Congress axes Chavan, Kalmadi; Opposition guns for Raja (Roundup)

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI - The Congress Tuesday launched a clean-up operation against leaders facing allegations of corruption by axing Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and parliamentary party secretary Suresh Kalmadi, even as opposition circles indicated that they would seek Telecom Minister A. Raja’s resignation over the 2G spectrum scam.

The Congress high command asked Chavan to resign Tuesday morning before the start of the winter session of parliament, where the opposition was planning to press for his resignation over the stinking housing scam in Mumbai.

Two senior party leaders - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A.K. Antony - left for Mumbai to hold consultations with party legislators to choose a “clean and honest” new chief minister.

The party’s parameters for the new leader were articulated by its general secretary Rahul Gandhi at Parliament House. “We want a person with a clean image and honesty” as the new Maharashtra chief minister, Gandhi said in response to questions.

Political circles feel the Congress has initiated the clean up operation following a series of scandals which tarnished the image of the party and the government.

Mukherjee told mediapersons here that the move to ask Chavan to step down was made “on general perception and based on certain facts” as decisions in politics are sometimes based on these considerations.

Mukherjee and Antony, who were deputed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to probe the role of Chavan in the Adarsh housing scam in Mumbai, submitted their report to her Monday.

Flats in the Adarsh Housing Society were given away to politicians, bureaucrats and military officers though they were meant for the families of soldiers killed in the 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan.

In a move to pre-empt Opposition onslaught on the Congress in parliament, Chavan submitted his resignation to Governor K. Sankaranarayanan in Mumbai Tuesday morning. The governor accepted his resignation and asked him to continue till his successor was appointed.

The Congress also announced the acceptance of the resignation of Kalmadi, who has been facing allegations of corruption and wrongdoing as chairman of the Organising Committee of the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games.

Meanwhile, the Left and other Opposition parties are planning to raise the corruption charges against Raja over the 2G spectrum Wednesday, sources said.

The opposition move comes amidst media reports that the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report has indicted Raja in the multi-crore rupee spectrum allocation.

The report is also understood to have said that Telecom Regulatory Authority remained “a helpless spectator” in the issue.

With Chavan having stepped down, the Congress began a hunt Tuesday for a new chief minister of Maharashtra.

Congress sources said a decision on his successor will be taken either Tuesday night or Wednesday.

They said Mukherjee and Antony, who is in charge of Maharashtra, will meet the legislators in Mumbai to ascertain their views.

Though no clear indications are available on Chavan’s successor, several names are doing the rounds.

These include Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Prithviraj Chavan, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and prominent state leaders like Balasaheb Thorat, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Narayan Rane, the sources said.

Mukherjee and Antony attended a meeting at the residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi Tuesday evening to decide the party’s strategy for the winter session of parliament.

The sources said that they also discussed Maharashtra developments.