CM treads warily on probe demand against Bhujbal

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday maintained its cagey approach to the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s request to initiate an open inquiry against PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal over alleged irregularities in the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi.

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday maintained its cagey approach to the Anti-Corruption Bureau’s request to initiate an open inquiry against PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal over alleged irregularities in the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi.

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Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said, “I have not received any such file. The question of clearing a request from the ACB does not arise.”

On September 15, HT had reported the Congress-NCP government was yet to decide on the ACB request. Bhujbal is an NCP leader, while the CM is from the Congress.

State home minister RR Patil (also from the NCP), however, said a discreet inquiry on behalf of the ACB, for which no permission is required from the government, was in progress.

The BJP has complained to the ACB and questioned a barter deal in the contract awarded for Maharashtra Sadan, the state government’s headquarters in Delhi. According to the BJP, a contractor close to Bhujbal is doing the work for free in return for bagging the development rights for a lucrative slum rehabilitation project in Mumbai.

The party also alleged that the contractor had passed on the work to companies run by Bhujbal’s relatives. Bhujbal welcomed a probe. “If the government gives a go-ahead, I will be pleased.”