BJP protests over rejection of Adarsh Housing Scam report

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged protests here on Friday against the Congress-NCP-led Maharashtra Government's rejection of the Adarsh Housing Society scam report, and its refusal to table it in the assembly, despite making a promise to the high court.

BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said: "They (state government) had given an affidavit in the Bombay High Court that report will be tabled in this session of the assembly). But the report has not been tabled so far. Today is the last day of session."

A section of media had earlier reported that government had rejected final report of the commission that probed the Adarsh Housing Society scam because it named senior Congress leaders such as former chief ministers Ashok Chavan, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Shivajirao Nilangekar and some Nationalist Congress Party politicians.

NCP leader Nawab Malik, insisted it would be tabled on Friday.

"The Speaker assured that report would be tabled today. But the opposition is not letting the house functions because it was to defame the government and take political mileage out of it," he added.

The Adarsh Housing Society was built to house veterans and widows of a 1999 war, but a probe found politicians, ministers and bureaucrats had been granted apartments on subsidised rates, leading to the sacking of the former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan

Meanwhile, in a major relief for Chavan, Governor K Sankaranarayanan had on December 18, refused to allow the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) permission to prosecute him in connection with the Adarsh Housing Society scam.

The governor did not state the reason for his decision so far.

In its 10,000-page chargesheet filed before the registrar of a Sessions court in July 2012, the CBI had named the former chief minister and 12 others.