'Free' from Adarsh, CAG gauntlet, netas attack media

Tuesday was a day of double delight for the Congressled Democratic Front government in Maharashtra after reports by the Adarsh inquiry commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General CAG submitted in the legislature provided relief to the ruling combine The Adarsh probe panel held that the land on which the controversial building stands belongs to the state and not the defence establishment Even the CAG report apparently did not mention any specific names involved in wrongdoings This morale booster prompted some ruling party politicians to lash out at newspapers and electronic media for putting them in the dock Gaining ground The Maharashtra governmentappointed judicial commission has concluded that the Adarsh society land in Mumbai belongs to the state government and was not meant for families of Kargil War martyrs as claimed by the army File pic During the state cabinet meeting held yesterday morning at Vidhan Bhavan to discuss the twomember Adarsh inquiry commission report ministers appeared relieved as the findings were favourable for the state government In this brief concourse where it was decided to table the report immediately in the state legislature a senior minister objected to media coverage ldquoThe entire media has projected the political community as culprits who have violated codes on a number of counts while sanctioning land to Adarsh societyrdquo said the minister according to sources Hitting back ldquoThey have given us the political class a bad name and a breach of privilege motion should be moved against the mediardquo the minister is said to have demanded Interestingly the minister was from NCP a party with a reportedly limited role in the entire Adarsh episode ndash only a few of its leaders have allegedly benefited directly or indirectly with memberships in the highly controversial society A minister belonging to Congress whose senior party colleagues have been facing a slew of allegations said the issue was over as the probe panel has clearly said the land belongs to the state and it was not reserved for the housing of defence personnel or Kargil war heroes Some of the ministers even suggested bureaucrats currently facing a number of charges for granting various permissions to society in lieu of membership should also be protected Soft landing The backlash at the media continued in the assembly when the CAG report on land deals was laid before the House by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar Industries Minister Narayan Rane and PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal both of whom were reported as beneficiaries of prime pieces of land in the name of educational institutes after the CAG report was leaked by BJP MLA Devendra Fadnavis were quite aggressive in their stance Submitting their personal clarifications both leaders vehemently denied any wrongdoings in the allotment of land While demanding inquiry into the leakage of the report Bhujbal said it was a conspiracy to destabilise the government Rane said it was a clear case of breach of privilege of the House as even before the report was tabled contents of it were made available to media ldquoThe report did not have our names but such information was provided to media which carried it with our picturesrdquo said Rane flanking a few clippings of the media reports He requested Speaker Dilip Walse Patil to accept the motion suo motu as the privilege of the House was breached Later home minister RR Patil announced a probe by crime branch of Mumbai police into the leak The Opposition termed it as an attempt to put pressure on a constitutional body like CAG and as they raised a number of issues vociferously proceedings of the assembly had to be adjourned on four occasions Amidst the din Bhujbal questioned the authority of CAG to make remarks on the state governmentrsquos policy decisions Fadnavis on the other hand objected to the probe saying it amounts to pressurising a constitutional institution Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan moved a proposal requesting the Speaker to direct the public accounts committee PAC to take up the CAG report on priority Currently PAC is discussing the CAG report of 200506 and will take a few more years to take up the current one ldquoPAC should take up the latest report so that the government can make its position clearrdquo said Chavan As Nawab Malik who was in the Chair accepted the CMrsquos proposal Opposition members objected demanding immediate debate in the House u00a0