We need more time: Pranab on Chavan

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said he and his cabinet colleague A K Antony entrusted with the probe to ascertain the role of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and others on the Adarsh housing scam would need time to decide on the issue.

“I had a discussion with my colleague Mr Antony [Defence Minister]. I require more time to go through the papers, therefore it is not possible for me or Antony to say anything [now],” Mukherjee said.

“We need more time,” he said, adding that Ashok Chavan has already tendered his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Sucked into the controversy over alleged allotment of flats meant for Kargil War widows in Mumbai to relatives and other associates, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Saturday offered to resign from his post before Sonia Gandhi, though a final call on the issue is awaited from the party high command.

The Congress has appointed a two-member panel comprising senior ministers Pranab Mukherjee and A K Antony to look into the affair while the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded immediate resignation of Chavan.

Meanwhile, according to investigations by major Indian news channels, at least three former chief ministers of Maharashtra besides Chavan were involved in the allotments of the Adarsh Housing Society in Colaba complex.

Former chief ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Narayan Rane not just gave clearances to the controversial building, but also have helped in the allotments to their chosen ones, reported the channels.