Adarsh Scam: Governor Gives Prosecution Nod Against Ashok Chavan

Chavan’s name had cropped up in the Adarsh Society scam forcing him to step down as chief minister in 2010.

Former Maha CM Ashok Chavan and Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam in Mumbai, on March 2, 2015. (Photo: IANS)

In a major embarrassment to the Congress, Maharashtra Governor CV Rao on Thursday accorded sanction to the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh Society scam.

Speaking with the media after the news came out, Chavan said,

This is a case of political vendetta of the BJP government. They feel that the Congress is becoming stronger day by day in Maharahtra so they are bringing up such issues. We will seek legal advise and then take a call on how to proceed.

Chavan, 57, is the Congress Lok Sabha member from Nanded and also heads the party’s Maharashtra unit. His name had cropped up in the Adarsh Society scam forcing him to step down as chief minister in 2010.

In 2013, then governor K Sankaranarayanan had rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation plea to prosecute him when the Congress-NCP government led by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan was in office.

However, citing grounds that it has unearthed ‘fresh evidence’, the CBI has again sought permission to prosecute Chavan.

The BJP-Shiv Sena government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last week recommended to Rao to allow the CBI to prosecute Chavan.

Chavan, the son of former chief minister and union home minister SB Chavan, retaliated by terming it as a vendetta by the BJP-Shiv Sena government.