Congress not in a hurry to table Adarsh report

Prithviraj Chavan said that the govt had received the report and would table it "at an appropriate time"

The Congress-led government in Maharashtra is unlikely to table the investigation report on the the Adarsh housing society scam, as well as the action taken report, in the ongoing monsoon session of the state legislature.

Factions within the party fear that tabling the reports in the assembly might give an opportunity to opposition parties, as well as its coalition partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), to embarass the government in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections next year.

Furthermore, any adverse remark in the probe report against former chief ministers Sushilkumar Shinde (now, Union home minister) and Ashok Chavan may weaken the party's agenda to fight corruption, they say.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are demanding the government table the enquiry report in the assembly immediately, along with the action taken report.

On July 14, on the eve of the three-week monsoon session, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had said the government had received the report and would table it “at an appropriate time”.

The two-member investigation commission of retired High Court Justice J A Patil and former chief secretary P Subrahmanium was set up in January 2011 to probe the Adarsh scam with reference to specific issues, such as land ownership, reservation of the plot, town planning and coastal violations and the role of public servants.

The 700-page report was submitted in a sealed cover to the state government on April 19 by  N N Kumbhar, secretary of the commission.  The commission's interim report had said the land where the Adarsh flats were built belonged to the state government and not to the defence ministry as it was claimed earlier. Not was it reserved for war widows.

"The party does not want to be hasty in tabling the Adarsh report. The commission's comment on the role of fomer chief ministers late Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde and Ashok Chavan will be quite crucial. They had all handled files pertaining to the building during their terms," a Congress minister, who did not want to be identified, told Business Standard.

Further, the minister said a section of the party supporting Ashok Chavan (who had to step down following the Adarsh expose) is of the strong view that the government should end the suspense. ''If Chavan is not found guilty, he should be rehabilitated ahead of the general elections," the minister added.

State BJP chief Devendra Phadanvis asked the government to table it during the monsoon session. MNS group leader in the state assembly Bala Nandgaonkar said Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan should not sit on the report. "I want to remind the chief minister that his appointment took place after his predecessor Ashok Chavan resigned in November 2010 in the wake of his alleged involvement in the Adarsh scam. It our appeal for chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to face the legislature by holding debate on the Adarsh report and the action taken report."

Maharashtra NCP's spokesman and legislator Nawab Malik said it was mandatory for the government to table the commission findings in the legislature.