A month before Maharashtra faces elections, the divide in the ruling alliance is all too clear. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has indirectly blamed Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan for triggering the Opposition’s campaign on the irrigation scam in which he was targeted.
“An issue was raised that despite crores being spent, only 0.01 per cent of land in the State was irrigated. I am of the firm opinion that the Chief Minister either deliberately or casually said — if this is the case, we will bring out a White Paper. The Opposition used this and claimed there must be huge irregularity or corruption. Then there was an attempt to malign me,” Mr. Pawar told The Hindu in an interview.
Both the White Paper and subsequent Chitale Committee of Inquiry report did not fault Mr. Pawar. However, an anti-corruption bureau probe on the matter is still awaiting a final nod. “I did not commit any violations. I signed files based on recommendations. I did not make any special exceptions. In fact, the Chitale report said the land under irrigation in the State had increased by 5 per cent,” Mr. Pawar said.
He openly admitted that he preferred the late Vilasrao Deshmukh’s style of functioning over that of Mr. Chavan. “He trusted his subordinates. If a file was placed before him by a colleague for an urgent decision, he would act immediately. That has never happened here,” he said.