M'rashtra govt seeks CBI prosecution against Chavan

In a major embarrassment for the Congress, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan is likely to face CBI prosecution  in the Adarsh scam case that ended his tenure abruptly.

Chavan (57), President of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, is an MP from Nanded and is among the two Congress Lok Sabha members from this state.

In 2013, the then Governor K Sankaranarayanan turned down CBI’s plea to prosecute Chavan, who had to resign as the Chief Minister in 2010 in the wake of the Adarsh scam.

The CBI sought permission on the basis of "fresh evidence" and the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP-Shiv Sena government recommended to Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to allow Chavan’s prosecution.

"Its a political vendetta against me. The Congress has been raising issues of public importance and are highlighting the failures of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and Maharashtra and hence they are targeting opposition leaders....they are misusing the CBI," Chavan said.

If the former governor (Sankaranarayanan) denied permission after consulting the Solicitor General, he asked on what basis the government is allowing the prosecution now.

The CBI chargesheet listed Chavan as an accused, while the two-member Commission of Inquiry comprising   Justice (Rtd) J A Patil, a former judge of the Bombay High Court and P Subramanian, a former Chief Secretary, had accused him of “quid pro quo” and “political patronage”.

CBI had to earlier petition the Bombay High Court to drop Chavan’s name as an accused as Sankaranarayanan turned down its plea to prosecute him. Son of former Union Home Minister and ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Shankarrao Chavan, Ashok Chavan's mother-in-law Bhagwati Sharma, sister-in-law Seema Sharma and father-in-law's brother Madanlal Sharma have flats in the society.