The charges against Chavan is that he had hidden the real expenditure incurred in the assembly elections.
Since the assembly elections in 2009, chief minister Ashok Chavan has been dogged by the controversy over ‘paid news’ with the chief election commission of India. The charges against Chavan is that he had hidden the real expenditure incurred in the assembly elections.
The complaint to the election commission of India was that identical news praising the chief minister and his government were flashed across several newspapers during the election period.
Madhav Kinhalkar, who contested against Chavan in the assembly polls, filed the petition in the high court challenging his contest. BJP (MP) Kirit Somaiyya led the party to lodge a complaint in the election commission of India. The Press Council of India (PCI) also stepped in, expressing serious concerns over the unethical practice of paid news in the elections. Chavan even deposed before PCI to explain his side.
Although he has often denied the charges, the anti-Chavan lobby, including non-government organisations, the opposition and prominent media persons had run a campaign against him. He was accused for paying massive funds to a section of the media during the campaign, to help build his image.
But the expenditure which runs into several crores was not accounted for. Another charge against him was that he had misused the government funds for self promotion in the 2009 elections. The paid news hearing, which was scheduled for this week, was postponed to next month. But even as Chavan was preparing to weather this controversy, he has found himself caught in the Adarsh Cooperative Housing scam.
According to BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, “Chavan appears to have paid for his conduct. We have been cautioning the state government since the beginning against the housing scam. We had given enough opportunity to the chief minister to establish a transparent government.”
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