Rediff.com » News
CBI gets Maha governor's nod to prosecute Ashok Chavan in Adarsh scam
February 04, 2016
Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao gives sanction to the CBI to prosecute former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh scam case.
This comes after the Maharashtra Cabinet recommended to Rao that he grant sanction to CBI to prosecute Chavan. The former CM today alleged that
the BJP was pressurising the probe agency to implicate him in the
high-profile case.
The CBI had approached the Governor seeking sanction to prosecute Chavan after it got "fresh evidence" against him in the case, following
which Mr Rao wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to elicit the
opinion of his Council of Ministers.
"Filing
of FIR has already taken place. The issue now is limited to state
cabinet recommending to the governor that permission for prosecution be
given," he said.
"BJP MP Kirit Somaiya has made baseless allegations. He is not a legal expert. He has always done this," Chavan said.
"He made baseless allegations that it was Rahul Gandhi who ensured that
the then governor didn't grant sanction for prosecution. Somaiya
should give proof of Rahuljis involvement in this," he added.
"Somaiya is not an astrologer to claim that the Governor will take
such and such action. The Governor is a constitutional authority. What
new has happened after the then governor refused to grant permission to
prosecute me? CBI is under BJP's pressure,"Chavan said.
"BJP's attempt is to ensure that there is no fair investigation in the
case. This is a case of political vendetta going on in the country by
some BJP leaders. Be it Oommen Chandy or Digvijay Singh, BJP wants to
target Congress leaders," he said.
"We won't be cowed down by such attempts. We will continue to highlight
corruption by BJP government. CBI has no connection with the Adarsh
Commission report," he said.
"I will take legal opinion on this issue and proceed accordingly. Why is
there a U-turn (by CBI) after change of government. The pressure on CBI
is so great that even court directives are overlooked," the MPCC
president said.
Mr Chavan, who had to resign as Chief Minister after the scam surfaced
in 2010, was among the 12 persons charge-sheeted by the probe agency in
connection with the case.
CBI had alleged that Mr Chavan suggested inclusion of civilian members
in Adarsh Housing Society meant for war veterans and widows of defence
personnel, to secure flats for his relatives in the plush complex,
situated at Colaba in south Mumbai.
In December 2013, the then Governor Sankaranarayanan had refused
sanction to CBI to prosecute Mr Chavan in the Adarsh housing scam,
leaving the agency with no choice but to close the case against him.
© 2024 Rediff.com