Alliance with Congress in Maharashtra would continue: Praful Patel

NEW DELHI - Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Tuesday said the alliance with Congress in Maharashtra would continue even if there is a change of guard in the Congress leadership in the wake of the Adarsh Housing Society scam.

“The question is we have a coalition government in Maharashtra with the congress party. The leadership of the congress party is a decision to be taken by them Alone. As far as NCP is concern, we fully support a congress led government,” said Praful Patel.

“We have a formula by which we had been working from last more then ten years in government with the congress and therefore that arrangement continues. As far as I am aware, there is no communication to the NCP to the contrary so why should we assume, there a change of guard, that is for the congress party to decide,” he added.

Asserting that the NCP is against all sorts of scams, Praful Patel said let there be a proper inquiry into the case.

“Let there be a proper inquiry, I’ve been also following what is being appearing in the media. The fact is there will be a competent authority making a suitable inquiry. So once the inquiry is complete, we will comment, as far as any scam, why this, any scam, there is no question of NCP or anybody supporting any scam,” said Patel.

“The question is what is the level of any wrong, any committed, if that comes to the light with the proper inquiry,” he added, while addressing the media persons on the sidelines of a function here hosted to honour the XIXth Commonwealth Games medal winners.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday set up the two-member panel to probe how the 31-storeyed plush Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society came up on a piece of land meant for the families of Kargil martyrs and the allotment of flats to politicians, bureaucrats and military officials.

The 31-storey Adarsh Society in Colaba, Mumbai, has become the catchment area for a massive political controversy.

Former Army chiefs, politicians and bureaucrats have all been allotted flats here for a fraction of the market rate.

Records show that two members of Chavan’s family, whom he describes as distant relatives, are among the 104 alottees for Adarsh Society.

The CBI is now investigating the scam. (ANI)