NEW DELHI, Oct 30 � Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan was battling for survival in office after the Congress leadership took exception to his role in the embarrassing housing scam prompting him to offer his resignation, reports PTI.
Responding to late night summons from the Congress high command, Chavan flew here today and met party President Sonia Gandhi for about an hour.
The meeting took place in the backdrop of three of Chavan�s close relatives having been among the 103 allottees in the 31-storeyed Adarsh Group Housing Society building in Mumbai in which several politicians, three former defence service chiefs and bureaucrats have cornered flats originally meant for Kargil heroes.
51-year old Chavan, who was a surprise choice for Chief Ministership in December 2008, himself told reporters after the meeting that he had offered to resign. The party President would take a call on the issue.
Gandhi has, meanwhile, set up a committee consisting of party heavyweights Pranab Mukherjee and A K Antony to prepare a report on the controversy surrounding the building complex. Action on Chavan�s resignation would be taken after the report is submitted.
However, highly-placed sources said it would be a matter of time before Chavan is asked to step down. That may happen only after U S President Barack Obama concludes his November 6-7 visit in Mumbai.
There is speculation in the Congress about who will succeed Chavan. The names of Union Ministers Prithviraj Chavan, Mukul Wasnik and Gurudas Kamat are doing the rounds.
While Chavan is Maratha from Western Maharashtra, Wasnik is a dalit leader from Vidarbha and Kamat from Mumbai. The talk in Congress circles is that the leadership is weighing the pros and cons of Chavan�s successor.
Chavan was summoned last night after reports emerged that three of his relatives � mother in law, sister in law and brother in law � were allotted flats in Adarsh Group Housing Society in upscale Colaba in south Mumbai.
Notwithstanding his press conference in Mumbai yesterday where he put up a strong defence on the issue and made a statement that his relatives have surrendered the flat, the party high command was not not impressed.
Highly-placed sources had indicated that Chavan�s continuance has become untenable in the wake of the scam and he was being summoned to give him a feel of how the party viewed the issue.
