New Delhi:
After the Congress party's disastrous showing in the recent state elections, vice-president Rahul Gandhi today asserted that the Congress is "dead serious about fighting corruption". Mr Gandhi said he thinks the Maharashtra government, headed by his party's Prithviraj Chavan, should not have rejected a report on the Adarsh housing scam. The report indicts four former Congress chief ministers in the state.
Mr Chavan said later, "I will consult my colleagues."
Mr Gandhi offered what he described as his "personal opinion" on the Adarsh scandal at a press after a meeting with chief ministers from the Congress. He said the session focused on checking graft and stubborn inflation, the two issues that cost his party heavily in recent state elections. (
Highlights of Rahul Gandhi's speech)
The Adarsh Housing Society was granted land in 2002 for apartments intended for war widows and veterans.
However, politicians, bureaucrats and defence officers colluded to grab flats at cheap prices.
Last week, the Maharashtra government decided it would not accept the findings of a retired judge who headed the inquiry into the swindle.
Justice JA Patil concluded that four former chief ministers of Maharashtra had endowed Adarsh with illicit "political patronage." The four leaders were identified as Ashok Chavan, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar and Sushil Kumar Shinde who is now the Union Home minister.