Ashok Chavan seeks to explain his story in Adarsh scam

Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan has slammed the Adarsh Inquiry Commission report, saying that it had been unjust to him. He asked Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Chief Secretary J S Saharia to give him a chance to explain his side of the story.

Ashok Chavan was forced to step down after the scam broke out. It was alleged that he manipulated regulations to clear the construction on a disputed plot wherein his relatives acquired apartments as a quid pro quo.

The former chief minister, in a letter, said: “The report is in bad faith and has done injustice to me. The commission did not bother to take cognisance of my viewpoint as per the Commissions of Inquiry Act, Section 8, before indicting me. It has done injustice to me.

“And while carrying out examination and inquiry, the commission, as per the act concerned, should give reasonable opportunity not just to hear a person whose reputation is likely to be affected by an enquiry but allow him to produce evidence in his defence.”

Chavan had claimed during cross-examination before the quasi-judicial commission that he came to know of his three relatives purchasing apartments in the housing society through the media.