Says PWD minister, Bhujbal claims BJP running campaign against him
Says PWD minister, Bhujbal claims BJP running campaign against him
PWD minister Chandrakant Patil on Thursday said his department has not given any clean chit to NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal in the Maharashtra Sadan case. He said that in fact his ministry’s report is clear that there should be investigation against Bhujbal. However, Bhujbal rubbished the minister’s claims and said the BJP government is active with “malice” against him.
Earlier last week, some reports have appeared stating that the PWD had given a clean chit to Bhujbal in connection with the alleged Maharashtra Sadan scam. Responding to a query from the ACB on the Maharashtra Sadan scam, engineers S.D. Debadwad and T.S. Chavan had reportedly submitted a report to the government saying there was no irregularity. The government had then forwarded the report to the ACB.
However, Mr Patil said that the report never gave any clean chit to Bhujbal. “We have said that there are some questions that need to be probed by the ACB. These include the proposal for a new Maharshtra Sadan not being placed before the Cabinet, but instead the approval for it was taken from the infrastructure committee. This was against the government policy. Therefore, there was no question of giving a clean chit to Bhujbal. However, there was a perception that the report put Bhujbal in the clear.”
Mr Patil further informed that a three-member committee was set up after the reports of the clean chit given to Mr Bhujbal appeared. “Before the committee Mr Debadwad and Mr Chavan have given in writing that they inadvertently mentioned their personal opinions in the report. If required, there will be a departmental inquiry against them,” he said.
However, Bhujbal dismissed the claims made by the minister. He said that the BJP is conducting a smear campaign against him. He said, “The government cannot give me a clean chit. The case is before the court and the ACB is the investigation agency. How can PWD claim whether I have been involved in any corruption or not Mr Patil should focus on some serious work instead of targeting me on issues which are not within his purview.”
