After the Adarsh housing society scam robbed Ashok Chavan of his chief ministership, Union power minister Sushilkumar Shinde may be next to face the heat.
After the Adarsh housing society scam robbed Ashok Chavan of his chief ministership, Union power minister Sushilkumar Shinde may be next to face the heat.
Shinde, who was the CM when clearances were given to the society, is accused of being the real kingpin in the plot to illegally allot flats to the members of the housing society.
“Shinde lobbied with former Congress MLC Kanhaiyalal Gidwani to sanction flats to 51 members,” stated former IPS officer and advocate YP Singh during a press conference held on Saturday.
“The sanctions were given overnight, and the orders were issued on August 24, 2004. This was a blatant violation of the code of conduct enforced by the election commission, which had announced that the code will come into force from August 24, till the new government is formed. But in spite of the orders, Shinde allegedly misused his post for sanctioning the flats,” Singh said.
The controversy has also engulfed Subhash Lalla, the then principal secretary, and RC Joshi, who was the secretary of revenue department during Shinde’s tenure.
Evidence procured by activist Simpreet Singh allegedly proves that Lalla allotted a flat in name of his mother by referring her as a defence employee, and another flat was allotted in name of her daughter.
It also allegedly shows that Shinde took special interest in having a flat allotted to major NW Khankhoje by deflating his income to make him eligible for the membership of the society.
Worse still, the CM and the bureaucrats allotted the land at a rate which was less than 20% of the market value, without any consent from the finance department, accused Simpreet Singh. This flouts the Maharashtra government’s rule which states that the finance department must be consulted before providing any grant or concession.
The activist has now lodged a complaint with the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) against Shinde, Lalla and Joshi, along with Gidwani and RC Thakur, the chief promoter of the housing society.
“The gravity of the criminal misconduct and the fraudulent acts committed by these people will be unveiled only after a probe by the ACB,” added Simpreet.
Shinde was not available for comment when contacted at his Delhi residence. However, Lalla refuted the allegations saying that his mother is the legal heir of an ex-serviceman and is member of the society since 1997-98.
Gidwani, on his part, said, “I don’t understand how I am related to all these things now. If they have proof they can go ahead and prove it. I don’t remember what happened five years ago.”
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