Chavan to issue statement on CVC row

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan will make a statement in the legislature soon on his role in the controversial appointment of PJ Thomas as central vigilance commissioner, said parliamentary affairs minister Harshawardhan Patil after the Assembly was disrupted twice over the issue.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan will make a statement in the legislature soon on his role in the controversial appointment of PJ Thomas as central vigilance commissioner, said parliamentary affairs minister Harshawardhan Patil after the Assembly was disrupted twice over the issue.

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The Opposition demanded that Chavan apologise for his role in the appointment and clarify his stance on it.

The Assembly and the Council had been adjourned for a day over this on Tuesday.

Patil told the Assembly that Chavan would respond to the allegations at an “appropriate time”. The Opposition objected to this. Leader of the Opposition Eknath Khadse demanded that the government spell out when Chavan would make a statement. As the Opposition and ruling party legislators faced off, the speaker adjourned the House for 30 minutes and later for an hour.

Congress sources said on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media: “The Opposition was being unreasonable. Chavan will make a statement on his terms, in his reply to the debate on the Governor’s speech.”