Congress clean-up

THE political ramifications of the Mumbai housing society scam were huge, both at the Centre and in the State. Pre-empting the opposition's plan to use it to disrupt the proceedings of the winter session of Parliament, which had just begun, the Congress high command accepted Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's resignation and appointed Union Minister Prithviraj Chavan in his place. This led to a shuffle in the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Congress coalition in the State. Ajit Pawar, NCP leader and Union Minister Sharad Pawar's nephew, managed to replace current Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal in the re-election that is mandatory when a Chief Minister resigns. Ajit Pawar had been waiting in the wings to take on a powerful position. This was clearly his chance. These changes will perhaps also lead to a Cabinet reshuffle in the coming days.

Ashok Chavan resigned over his alleged role in the allotment of Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society flats to civilians when he was Revenue Minister in 2000. Additionally, it was discovered that two of his relatives had been allotted apartments in the controversial building. Ashok Chavan maintains that an inquiry will prove his innocence. Clearly embarrassed by the impropriety, the party leadership was not willing to risk keeping Ashok Chavan in the chair, particularly with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led opposition gearing to rake up the issue in Parliament.

The Congress also accepted the resignation of Suresh Kalmadi, secretary of the Congress Parliamentary Party, who was accused of corruption in the organisation of the Commonwealth Games. Kalmadi was the chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.

The party was being blamed for its ineffective handling in the 2G spectrum allocation scam. By removing Ashok Chavan and Kalmadi, the Congress was trying to indicate that it would not tolerate those involved in scandals.

However, opposition parties disrupted the proceedings in Parliament. They demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adarsh Housing Society scam and the irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocation and the conduct of the Commonwealth Games. They said a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry was not enough. Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi accused the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of being involved in each of these irregularities and reiterated the demand for a JPC probe.

OPPOSITION DEMAND

Unwilling to be placated by the Congress' moves, the BJP, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Janata Dal (United) said they wanted more heads to roll. They demanded the resignation of Telecommunications Minister A. Raja as well. In a scathing attack, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj said this government in its second term and new avatar is steeped in corruption. Ashok Chavan's resignation does not give a clean chit to Suresh Kalmadi, Sheila Dikshit, A. Raja and S. Jaipal Reddy. The Adarsh scam has put the ruling party, in the State and at the Centre, on the mat. The Congress will surely have tough days ahead.

During the early days of the scam, Ashok Chavan and former Congress Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh began a slanging a match, with each blaming the other for the problem. Deshmukh attempted to pin the entire blame on Ashok Chavan. However, it transpires now that both Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan had received applications from the housing society and both of them had directed the Revenue Department to release the land to the society.

The allegations and blame game within the Congress have shown the party in very poor light. The party is leading the coalition Democratic Front for the second term. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP won 71 seats in the last Assembly election and the Congress 69 seats, one of its lowest ever tallies in the State. The NCP clearly has a stronger hold on the combine and keeps the Congress on its toes. A scam involving its members would certainly not help its precarious status as the leader of the coalition.

CLEAN IMAGE

The Congress leadership was left with the difficult task of finding the right candidate to replace Ashok Chavan. His successor Prithviraj Chavan, known for his proximity and loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family, has a clean image and is known for his maturity in dealing with coalition partners. Prithviraj Chavan's name had come up when Deshmukh was replaced in 2008 after the terror attack on Mumbai. But for various reasons he could not be handed the reins. Prithviraj's another qualification for the post is that he hails from a political family. His mother, Premlatabai, was a former State Congress president. Moreover, he is a Maratha, which matters to the Maratha-dominated NCP.

It is just over a year since the Assembly elections were held and already the Chief Minister has been replaced. The current political climate does not favour the Congress, but the combine has four more years to complete its term. Hopefully, Prithviraj Chavan will lead the Congress-NCP through less turbulent and more constructive times.

INFRASTRUCTURE INCOMPLETE

To his credit it must be said that Ashok Chavan led the party to success in the Assembly election. He also managed to control the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's (MNS) parochial politics. Political observers, however, say that Ashok Chavan has done little for the common man.

Even Mumbai's infrastructure projects, to which the Chief Minister pays close attention, have shown no progress. The second phase of the sea-link project is yet to be completed. The monorail and metro projects have been stalled and no decision has been taken on the Navi Mumbai airport or trans-harbour link.

Ashok Chavan is the third Chief Minister to step down following a scam. In 1982, A.R. Antulay resigned following his involvement in a cement scandal and conviction in an extortion case. In 1986, Shivajirao Nilangekar Patil became a victim of a marks scandal. He was accused of influencing his niece's examination results. In Maharashtra, politics appears largely party- and personality-driven. Political analysts believe that Ajit Pawar and Prithviraj Chavan should make a fairly dynamic, if not interesting, combination.

Anupama Katakam