After a long lull, the Congress has stirred up Maharashtra's political scene, by putting chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in the dock, over a land deal in Navi Mumbai. As in the past, another CM has now courted, directly or indirectly, a controversy in a matter related to the real estate business, a subject which is dear to all politicians. Coinciding with instances in the previous Congress-NCP governments and the Sena-BJP regime that ruled the state two decades ago, a ruling party leader, who claims to be very close to the CM, has been accused of corrupt practices for personal gains in this particular matter.

We have seen some such cases reach a logical end, with the CMs quitting the office. Then, too, a coterie of certain politicians and bureaucrats was blamed for the respective CM's downfall. It is a practice in political circles to spy on the coteries for their role in endeavours that can be labelled 'irregular'. Moles in the government, estranged party colleagues, and upset stakeholders in the business concerned ensure a constant flow of information that can be exploited politically.

Tactical counter
When the allegations were reiterated in the ongoing Monsoon Session in Nagpur, Fadnavis ordered a judicial inquiry. A day after, he stayed all transactions in the particular land deal between eight project-affected people and Paradise Developers, which according to official information, had been party to similar controversial deals in the past.