Adarsh commission pulls up Gidwani

The Adarsh Inquiry Commission, on Wednesday, reprimanded Congress leader and one of the main promoters of the Adarsh Society, Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, for feigning memory loss.

The Adarsh Inquiry Commission, on Wednesday, reprimanded Congress leader and one of the main promoters of the Adarsh Society, Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, for feigning memory loss.

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“The witness has been giving evasive answers to the questions put to him and feigning failure of memory to answer questions,” the Commission noted.

Gidwani, who was at his smiling best on Tuesday, had to face the commission's wrath after he parried questions on who suggested the inclusion of 40% civilians in the Adarsh Society.

Gidwani repeatedly claimed he did not remember. A harried commission member, former state chief secretary P Subrahmanium, finally interjected and questioned Gidwani's loss of memory. “How do you get these sudden bouts of memory loss,” Subrahmanium asked Gidwani. In his defence, Gidwani claimed he had difficulty in recollecting the incidents as they took place a long time ago.

Gidwani also said that he had met the then revenue minister Ashok Chavan only once in year 2000, in connection with allotment of land to Adarsh society.

“Chavan told us that the government had framed a specific policy in respect of allotment of government land to housing societies and the allotment of the land would be made in accordance with the policy,” Gidwani said.

He also said that during the meeting, there was no discussion about accommodating 40% civilian members in the society. There have been allegations that it was Ashok Chavan who, in 2000, had cleared the inclusion of civilians in the Adarsh society.

“Chavan did not ask for 40% civilians to be accommodated as members of the Adarsh CHS. It is true that it was the decision of the society to take 40% civilians as members,” Gidwani said.