Sonia Gandhi holds talks with party leaders

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who is supposed to decide on the fate of beleaguered Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, on Monday held discussions with party leaders for an impending change of guard in Maharashtra.

Chavan on Saturday submitted his resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi after a nation-wide criticism for an alleged scam over a multi-storied apartment, which supposed to be alloted to the heroes of Kargil war.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee , Defence Minister A K Antony, Ahmed Patel and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had called on Gandhi and understood to have discussed the controversial matter.

Meanwhile, Ashok Chavan left here for Mumbai on Monday morning after meeting many party leaders since Saturday.

Chavan had offered to resign on Saturday during a meeting with Gandhi in connection with the controversial Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society.

Gandhi had asked Mukherjee and Antony, who is also in-charge of party affairs in Maharashtra, to look into the matter and submit a report.

On his return from Kolkata, Mukherjee had a meeting with Antony Sunday night and said he would require some more time to go through the documents related to the alleged scam.

“I will require more time to go through the papers and, therefore, it would not be possible for me or Antony to say anything right now,” Mukherjee had said.

There were reports that more Congress and NCP leaders, including three former Maharashtra Chief Ministers, Union Heavy Industry Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and current Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, besides Maharashtra Minister Ajit Pawar and nephew of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, had links with the controversial upscale project.

Deshmukh, Rane and Pawar denied the allegations of any links, saying they had not recommended any cases for allotment of flats in the 31-storey housing complex which stands on the land supposed to be meant for Kargil war heroes and their widows while Shinde accused the media of making a hue and cry over the issue.

Questions were also being raised from the Chief Minister’s camp as to how action can be taken against Chavan on the Adarsh issue when other Congress leaders from Maharashtra were also allegedly involved.