Following the footsteps of the principal Opposition BJP that made a similar demand, its alliance partner Shiv Sena said on Friday that it would submit a memorandum to Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Saturday, demanding the convening of a special session of the State legislature, to debate the findings of the Inquiry Commission on Adarsh society scam.
A day after the Congress-led DF Government partially accepted the Commission's findings on the Adarsh scam but spared six senior politicians, including Sushil Kumar Shinde, of any action on the ground that "no criminality" had been established, the Sena announced that its delegation would meet the Governor at 4 pm on Saturday, seeking the latter's intervention in convening a special session of the State legislature to discuss the Adarsh scam probe report.
"The Adarsh scam has brought down the image of Maharashtra in the country. First, the DF Government rejected the inquiry commission report, through a four-line explanation. However, after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and party president Sonia Gandhi disagreed with the decision and asked the DF Government to reconsider the issue, the State Cabinet partially accepted the inquiry report, The entire country has witnessed the sorry spectacle that went on in Maharashtra in recent weeks," a Sena spokesperson said.
Apart from rooting for the convening of a Special legislature Session to debate the Adarsh commission report, the objective behind the Sena's decision to meet the Governor is to mount pressure on the ruling Congress and the NCP to suspend the senior leaders of the two parties indicted in the inquiry commission report and also to force the DF Government to step down from office and seek fresh election.
led by party leaders Subhash Desai, Diwakar Raote and Sanjay Raut, the Sena delegation that would meet the Governor on Saturday would comprise party MPS, MPs and leaders.
While partially accepting the Adarsh commission report, the DF Government had on Thursday let off the hook six senior politicians -- late Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde, Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar, Ashok Chavan -- and two former Urban Development department Ministers Sunil Tatkare and Rajesh Tope indicted in the report for extending "political patronage" to Adarsh housing society. It had taken recourse to the "no-criminality" ruse to spare the six indicted ruling alliance politicians of any action.
Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan had also announced that the State agencies would not be filing a separate FIR against seven public servants, including former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, indicted in the Adarsh scam probe report for quid pro quo acts, since the names of five persons figured in the list of 13 accused named by the CBI in its FIR filed on January 29, 2011 and subsequent chargesheet filed in the case.
Reacting to the partial acceptance of the Adarsh commission report, leader of the Opposition in the State legislative Council Vinod Tawde of the BJP reiterated the Opposition's demand for the convening of a special session to debate and decide on the Adarsh commission findings.
Tawde said he had written to Governor K Sankaranarayanan, dubbing the decision taken by the State Cabinet on the Adarsh issue as "unconstitutional".
"After the State Government tabled the inquiry commission report in the State legislature on December 20, it became the property of both the Houses. Any discussion or review of a decision on the report can take place only on the floor of the two House and not in the State Cabinet. That's why we have been demanding that a special session of the State legislature be convened to decide on the Adarsh inquiry commission report," Tawde added.