Ashok Chavan supporters miffed,Cong looks to rein in disgruntlement

On Tuesday,senior Congressmen said the request for an appointment with the high command had been declined but a handful of the former chief minister’s supporters camped in New Delhi nevertheless. “If the premise of a change in the chief ministerial post was necessitated by the Adarsh scam,the party high command can now hardly be seen as interfering in the CBI’s probe into the scam,” a senior leader said. “The view of the high command with regard to leaders embroiled in any legal controversy is that the law will take its course.”

However,with elections to the Legislative Council as well as the Presidential polls scheduled for later this month,the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee would be initiating discussions with the disgruntled lot,said sources. Among those preparing to visit New Delhi were Abdul Sattar,Amar Rajurkar,Ramesh Bagwe,VIjay Wadettiwar and Omprakash Pokarna,said sources.

While the chief minister has already promised a district-wise review of issues raised by legislators regarding their constituencies,some care would also be taken to ensure that there is no cross-voting in the coming polls. “Every legislative council election causes some concern and due care will be taken given the current circumstances,” said one source. “But this is not a problem for the Congress party alone.”

The MPCC is viewing the move by Ashok Chavan’s camp as not only a strategy to target the chief minister but also to express resentment that the Nanded leader is being singled out for action by the CBI when the general view is that two other chief ministers,Sushilkumar Shinde and Vilasrao Deshmukh,had a role to play in granting permissions to the society.

Their allegation has been that while NCP president Sharad Pawar stood up for his minister Sunil Tatkare against whom there are serious allegations of corruption,the Congress has not taken a strong stand against the inclusion of a former chief minister’s name in the CBI chargesheet.