Congress to take Ashok Chavan call by Monday

The Congress is going to keep Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan on the tenterhooks for a few more days. The party leadership has said it is not going to take a decision on his resignation offer till November 8.

The Adarsh cooperative housing scam was expected to overshadow proceedings at the one-day session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Tuesday. But, the party leadership did the opposite. There was no mention of the Adarsh or Commonwealth Games scams in the main speeches and the political statement.

As if this was not enough, senior Congress leader and general secretary Digvijay Singh amplified the scope of the inquiry being conducted by Pranab Mukherjee and AK Antony.

“They shall conduct a due diligence in the matter and find out whether it is a case of corruption or nepotism. A lot of names are being mentioned, including those of bureaucrats, military officials and politicians. So let them conduct this inquiry,” he said.

Singh refuted the contention that the party was not facing any situation created by these scams. “There is a Shunglu committee inquiring into the CWG affairs. The Adarsh case is also being inquired into. The issue of corruption need not figure in all speeches,” he said.

However, leaders did not want to say whether this delay would determine whether Chavan’s resignation would be accepted or rejected.