Pranab, Antony seek more time to probe Adarsh scam

The suspense over the fate of embattled Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan continued on Sunday night with a high-level Congress committee tasked to give a report on the housing scam in Mumbai saying it would need 'more time' to do its job.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is heading the two-member committee, met fellow panel member Defence Minister A K Antony on Sunday night shortly after his arrival from Kolkata and said that he would require some more time to go through the documents and prepare a report for Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

"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 told reporters after meeting Antony, who is also in-charge of party affairs in Maharashtra.

After Chavan offered to resign on Saturday during a meeting with Gandhi in connection with an alleged scam in the Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society, Gandhi had appointed a two-member panel to look into the matter.

"You know, the Congress president has entrusted Mr Antony and myself to examine the relevant papers and documents and thereafter to report to her. As Mr Chavan has already offered his resignation to her, before she arrives at a decision, she expects a report from both of us," Mukherjee said.

The formation of the panel was announced by All India Congress Committee general secretary Janardan Dwivedi who refused to answer repeated questions on its timeframe. Earlier in the day, Antony indicated it will not take an unduly long time to decide the fate of Chavan.

"It will not take an unusual time. It will take normal time," Antony said when asked to comment on an inquiry by the panel. TV reports alleged that more Congress and Nationalist Congress Party leaders including three former Maharashtra chief ministers -- Union Heavy Industry Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and current Revenue Minister Narayan Rane -- and Maharashtra minister Ajit Pawar, 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 which was meant for Kargil war heroes and widows, while Shinde accused the media of making a hue and cry over the issue.

Questions were also being raised in 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.