‘Patil ordered irrigation probe’

Replying to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel’s recent allegations, senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the NCP had backstabbed his party by withdrawing its support before the 2014 Assembly polls. He also stated that the then-home minister, the late R.R. Patil, had given his permission for probe to be conducted into the alleged scam of Rs 70,000 crore in irrigation works. Meanwhile, NCP leader Ajit Pawar blamed Mr Chavan for his party’s downfall.

Mr Patel, a former Union minister, had blamed Mr Chavan for sinking Congress, and with it the NCP. He also said Mr Chavan had sought to target the NCP.

Mr Chavan, on his part, had announced that he would reply to Mr Patel on Friday.

Speaking with mediapersons at his office, which is located near Marine Drive, Mr Chavan claimed that he was shocked when he read the news about the government giving its approval for a probe into the irrigation scam. “I was really shocked... The decision had been taken by the then-home minister R.R. Patil,” revealed Mr Chavan.

Mr Patil had given approval for a probe to be conducted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau against Mr Pawar and former water resources minister Sunil Tatkare on September 20 2014, a day before the Assembly was dissolved, Mr Chavan said. He added that he was not sure whether or not Patil had discussed the matter with any party leader before taking the decision. He said that allegations against him in the irrigation scam inquiry were baseless. “It was their own party leader who made their way difficult in the alleged scam,” he said.

He added, “It was mentioned in a 2011 economic survey report that despite spending Rs 70,000 crore on irrigation schemes, only 0.5 per cent land came under irrigation. My stand on publishing a white paper on irrigation was only to find out the mistakes and loopholes in planning that could be remedied in the future.”

He added that the white paper was not meant to be an inquiry or probe against any department or minister. “If that was my motive, I would have chosen to hand over the the issue to the ACB instead,” he said.

Mr Chavan claimed NCP had decided to withdraw its support immediately after the BJP broke its alliance with the Shiv Sena. “Was there an understanding between BJP and NCP,” he asked, claiming that BJP had benefited by the president’s rule in the state.

Mr Chavan added, Mr Patel was Union minister for 10 years and still he lost the poll. How is Congress responsible for his defeat