Canceling all his appointments scheduled in Mumbai on Saturday, Chavan flew to Delhi after he was summoned by the Congress chief at 10:00 in the morning.
Speaking to Arab News, prior to his departure to Delhi, Chavan said the media hype about his involvement in the scam was a political conspiracy hatched by his opponents. Though tense, Chavan was defiant and unrepentant and put a brave front insisting that he had committed no wrong.
According to a close confidante of Chavan, Sonia was miffed with Chavan and sought his resignation on the spot. Chavan tried to mollify her, but she was not convinced with the weak defense and explanation offered by the chief minister. Chavan offered to resign during the meeting with Sonia, who asked two union ministers to probe the matter. The meeting was attended by fA.K. Anthony, Prithviraj Chavan, Jairam Ramesh and senior Congress leaders Janardan Dwivedi and Ahmed Patel.
Sonia constituted a two-member team comprising Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defense Minister A.K. Antony to probe the allotment of Adarsh Housing Society flats, originally meant for families of soldiers killed in the 1999 Kargil conflict with Pakistan, to politicians, bureaucrats and military officials.
“It is a fact that Chavan has offered to resign. But a decision on the matter would be taken after the two-member committee submits a report to Congress president,” Congress General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters at the Congress office in Delhi. Speaking to reporters on his return from Delhi, Chavan said, “I explained the true situation of the Adarsh Housing Society to Sonia Gandhi. I also informed her that the land on which the society is located is in possession of the Maharashtra government. The inquiry into the scam is in progress by the Central Bureau of Investigations and I welcome it. I told her that if she wants my resignation in the scam issue, I am ready to offer it and you can take necessary action.”
Chavan, 52, said he told Sonia: “I am here, my resignation is also here. I leave it to you to take a final view.”
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded the immediate sacking of Chavan. “The BJP demands the chief minister should immediately resign or be removed immediately,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters.
Three former defense chiefs have offered to return the flats in the controversial housing society. Former army chiefs Deepak Kapoor, N.C. Vij and Adm. Madhvendra Singh in a joint statement said that at no stage were they aware that these flats in the society were meant for Kargil war widows as claimed in some section of the media and if is so they have absolutely no hesitation whatsoever in returning these flats allotted to them to the concerned authorities.
Chavan’s mother-in-law and two other relatives are reported to have got flats in the housing society.
Meanwhile, immediately after reports of Chavan’s submitting his resignation, top leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which is the coalition partner of the Congress in the Democratic Front government in the state, called an emergency meeting to take stock of the situation.
The NCP is keen on the chief minister’s post, and its leaders have suggested the name of Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule for the post.
