On the eve of Sonia Gandhi's rally in Sewagram to celebrate the 125th year of the Congress, the party was caught in an unseemly “reality show” on a Marathi TV channel. Immediately, the Opposition demanded that the top leadership of the party in Maharashtra resign from their posts.
The TV channel, which said it was not a “sting operation” but a “reality show,” repeatedly showed clips of a private conversation, between Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Party (MPCC) president Manikrao Thakre and former State Minister Satish Chaturvedi, it caught on tape. They were discussing arrangements for the rally at Sewagram in Wardha on October 15. The conversation took place at a press conference held in Nagpur a couple of days ago.
Talking money
Mr. Chaturvedi is heard saying that he [the Chief Minister] had no intention of paying Rs. 2 crore but “aakhir line pe aa gaya” (he came around). The channel said that every Minister was asked to pay Rs. 10 lakh for the rally, and the Chief Minister, a sum of Rs. 2 crore.
Mr. Thakre says on the video that he told someone in Delhi that he has collected Rs. 10 lakh from most Ministers, and only one Minister, Subhash Zanak, paid Rs. 5 lakh. All this money is to buy flags and other things, and to meet the expenses for flag marches to Sewagram from every village.
Mr. Manikrao Thakre told The Hindu that the party had not asked for money from any Minister or the Chief Minister. “The workers have collected this money for the rally, and as a party, we have coordinated the exercise,” he said.
Hidden interests
This conversation took place on October 11; it is being aired now on the eve of the rally. Some interested party could be behind this, he said. “Workers have collected money for the rally from all over the State for the flags and the buses, and we have paid by cheque to the State transport corporation. All our transactions are above board. The money is collected by people at the block level and handed over to us; so local representatives will be involved,” he said.
“We had told the Chief Minister an approximate cost for the buses and flags, and it worked out to Rs. 2 crore; that does not mean he had to pay up Rs.2 crore,” Mr. Thakre said. The reference to the high command was in some other connection, concerning the list of the AICC members, he said. He said the conversation was played selectively, hiding the facts.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chavan told the channel that the entire video was laughable. He said that no money was paid for the rally by him and people had contributed to it from their own pockets. The manner in which this news was twisted and played was wrong, he said. He also said that neither he nor the ministers were paying any money.
The controversy comes in the midst of appointing the Congress State chief. There is hectic lobbying against Mr. Thakre who is in charge now. The high command will decide if some punitive action is warranted and is hoping that the issue does not flare up politically.
Sanjay Dutt, MPCC spokesperson, clarified that all preparations for the rally were in place and the people of Vidarbha were excited about Ms. Gandhi's visit. Hussain Dalwai, Congress MLC and spokesperson, said that the flag march had already begun in the villages and people would gather in large numbers at Sewagram on Friday.
The rally was to be held on October 2, but it was postponed due to the Ayodhya verdict. Mr. Dalwai said that when the rally was first organised, the Chief Minister had called the State Transport Corporation and asked them to reserve buses so that people from all over the State could attend the rally. The payment was to be done by the MPCC. Mr. Dalwai said people later sent the money and they were given receipts. No one has asked either the Ministers or the Chief Minister to pay for the rally, he said.
