Deshmukh, Shinde: A friendship which weathered many storms

They were called “Do Hanso Ka Joda”. The two swans of Maharashtra politics from eighties till now were late Vilasrao Deshmukh and Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.

Deshmukh, a former Maharashtra chief minister, passed away at a Chennai hospital on Tuesday.

The duo, friends since college days, were inseparable. Unlike several political friendship which as the years progress start depending on changing political equations, the two swans swam together and never parted ways.

They helped each other in their political careers and the two friends ironically either succeeded or preceded each other in the two times they held the chief minister’s chair.
In 1999, Shinde succeeded him and in 2004 Vilasrao took the chair from his friend. There were no bitterness but a deep satisfaction that glowed from their eyes that the chair was still between them.

Last month when the judicial commission instituted to probe into the Adarsh Housing scam, the two friends were called for cross-examination. Shinde was the first to depose; he stated: “The letter of intent was signed during his predecessor’s tenure.”

Vilasrao was the second to depose and he stated: “The letter before coming to me passed through several hands, including the revenue department...and I just signed it as the onus in such matter to look and whet it lies on revenue department.”