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Journalism of Courage
In the end, Chhagan Chandrakant Bhujbal, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, went quietly, so far the most powerful political victim of the Telgi scam.
The scam’s shadow was everywhere even though Bhujbal’s leader, Sharad Pawar—head of the Nationalist Congress Party, equal partners in the ruling coalition—fervently tried to convince a sceptical state that Maharashtra’s strongman was resigning on moral grounds. The fig leaf: an attack by his partymen on Zee TV office which showed a skit critical of the Deputy Chief Minister.
Bhujbal’s resignation was accepted late tonight by Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde who earlier in the day had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi to invite her to a party function in Mumbai on December 27.
Though Shinde was officially informed in the evening about Bhujbal’s resignation, the Congress did not seem to be taken by surprise.
Held directly responsible for the out-of-control corruption in the police department that he controlled—and the arrest of 16 officers on the take from Telgi—Bhujbal stepped down saying he was taking responsibility for an attack by his supporters on a Zee TV office in the western suburb of Andheri on Tuesday.
‘‘He sought to resign owning moral responsibility for the attack since he was answerable for maintaining law and order as the state’s home minister,’’ a relaxed Pawar said in a hastily called press conference at his Peddar Road residence.
Clearly, the real reason was next year’s elections. It would not have been possible to go to the people with the discredited Bhujbal as the public face of the NCP.
‘‘We expected that he would be asked to step down after the two-day meeting of party leaders slated to begin on Wednesday,’’ confirmed an NCP minister. ‘‘Apparently, Saheb (Pawar) thought the attack on media office would be a good opportunity.’’
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Taint spread from top
cop to No 2 in govt |
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•Bhujbal: For a month, the Opposition pointed a finger at the Deputy Chief Minister for the police goof-up and suspected role of his nephew Sameer Status: Asked to resign by the party high command on Tuesday. •R S Sharma: Police chief accused of accepting Rs 15 lakh for deleting name of Telgi’s kin from an FIR. Status: In Pune jail Story continues below this ad •Sameer: Known to be close to Totla. The 32-year-old deputy CM’s nephew looks after his uncle’s college in suburban Bandra—the Mumbai Educational Trust and is also the general secretary of the Mumbai NCP. Status: Not called in for questioning. Yet. •Vagal: Joint Commissioner of Police Sridhar Vagal is accused of accepting Rs 76 lakh for going slow. •Kamath: Organised holidays for Telgi while he was in custody. Assistant Inspector Dilip Pandurang Kamath is accused of selling fake stamp consignments. |
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Pawar denied that of course.
‘‘For us, the incident is an attack on freedom of press,’’ declared Pawar. ‘‘It assumes much significance.’’
Sources in the party said the move to drive the final nail began today after news channels started reporting that 40-50 NCP activists trashed the Zee office after the broadcast of a satirical programme aired on the Alpha Marathi channel yesterday. Bhujbal was lampooned in the satire for links with Telgi and a number of arrested police officers.
The person who led the attack was a NCP officebearer from Vile Parle in North-west Mumbai. Pawar said he had asked NCP Mumbai president Sachin Ahir to oust the activist from the party immediately.
Bhujbal met Pawar at Silver Oak, the NCP leader’s residence before the media were summoned.
Pawar also has another important task at hand—to choose a successor to Bhujbal.
Party sources said Pawar would prefer to separate the home portfolio from the deputy chief minister’s post.
One among the veteran NCP ministers—public works minister Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, tribal development minister Madhukar Pichad or irrigation minister Padmasinh Patil—would be installed as deputy chief minister, said the late-evening buzz.
Pawar would prefer a person with a clean image. That could be party’s Member of Parliament from Satara, Shrinivas Patil, a former IAS officer with vast administrative experience. Plus, Patil is close to Pawar.
A former Shivsainik, Bhujbal has been Pawar’s trusted aide for almost a decade.
He was the first president of state NCP. Pawar chose Sena-fighters Bhujbal as DCM in October 1999 after assembly elections, though party legislators were in favour of public works minister Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, who polled for votes in an internal party election for the DCM’s post.
Patil had got already got 42 votes in the 58-man party before Pawar stopped the election, saying the DCM would now be chosen by ‘‘discussion’’.
Seen as a prominent OBC leader, Bhujbal belongs to the politically influential Mali (gardener) community, which has a strong presence in at least 36 of 288 assembly constituencies of Maharashtra.
This means, Pawar would have to rehabilitate him by giving some other post to keep the Mali votes with the party.
It could be a berth in the Rajya Sabha or a second term as state president of NCP—which could be significant in the election year. Bhujbal is a good orator and known as a crowd-puller next only to Pawar.
The other OBC minister left in NCP team in tourism minister Jaidutt Kshirsagar but he is not a Mali.
The future of the party will become clearer at a two-day meeting of the party’s ministers, prominent legislators and state executive to be held at party office at Nariman Pont on Wednesday and Thursday.
