Pranab meets Antony as scam taints 4 ex-CMs

Pranab was also scheduled to meet Chavan after his confabulations with Antony.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Saturday constituted a two-member team comprising Mukherjee and Antony to probe the charges of irregularities. 

As the Congress finds itself on a sticky wicket over the alleged involvement of the Maharshtra chief minister, who is heading a coalition government with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), more murky details of the involvement of some senior party leaders and Army generals emerged on Sunday.

It now appears that four former Maharashtra chief ministers––Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Narayan Rane and Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar––who had issued various clearances to the controversial project at some point of time, also have been benefited directly or indirectly through allotments to their associates.Apart from politicians, senior Army officers could be involved in the scam.

Evidence has emerged that former Army Chief of Staff General Deepak Kapoor sought membership while he was still the chief and that two other serving generals were also granted membership to the society meant for Kargil martyrs and war widows.

Gen Kapoor and Lieutenant General (retd) N C Vij had written letters seeking membership in the society. The letters, addressed to the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, were sent by Gen Kapoor on June 19, 2008 and by Lt Gen Vij on June 18, 2008.

No idea: Gen Vij
Gen Vij has claimed that when he applied for a flat, he had retired and that he “no idea whatsoever, even remotely,” that these flats were for war widows.
Nearly every General Officer commanding the Mumbai area between September 2000 and July 2010 have all been given apartments in the controversial society. These include Major General V S Yadav, Maj Gen T K Kaul, Maj Gen Tejinder Singh and Maj Gen RK Hooda.

Chavan, camping in Delhi, has brought along some of his senior ministerial colleagues to plead his case before the Congress leadership. The team, which landed here on Sunday, includes some known high command loyalists such as Transport Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Animal Husbandry Minister Nitin Raut.

Party sources said the chief minister’s supporters were arguing that since the scam involved senior leaders, including Deshmukh and Shinde, Chavan alone should not be punished. Incidentally, the names of Deshmukh and Shinde are doing the rounds as Chavan’s possible successors.