Adarsh ruling: Opposition demands Maharashtra Governor's resignation

Mumbai, Dec 22 : Hours after the Bombay High Court verdict quashed Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao's sanction to prosecute former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh Society scam matter, the main opposition parties in the state demanded Rao resign from his post.

Congress MP Rajiv Satav and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Jitendra Awhad asked the governor own up responsibility and step down "on moral grounds" following the adverse court ruling on his sanction order of February 2016.

State NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik termed the high court decision as "a slap in the face of the vendetta politics".

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Dhananjay Munde, of the NCP, said "the politics of lies of the Bharatiya Janata Party have been once again exposed".

Satav, the MP from Hingoli, said during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress could win only two seats in Maharashtra, "because the Adarsh Society scam, like the 2G scam, were election issues.

"The charges were politically motivated in both. The Governor must tender his resignation."

Awhad, who was allotted a flat in the controversial building, said: "Maharashtra Governor Rao worked more as a BJP worker than as the Governor. At the end, the Bombay HC gave relief to Chavan. The Governor should tender resignation taking moral responsibility." 

Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam accused the BJP of unleashing a "sinister campaign to malign the Congress".

"After the 2G verdict and now the Adarsh Society case ruling vis-A-vis Chavan, the (BJP)'s false propaganda has been completely exposed," he said.

Chavan, who secured a major breather, hailed the court verdict, saying it "restores the prestige of the office of the Governor".

"The BJP had used the issue politically to tarnish the Congress. However, the truth has prevailed. I have complete faith in the judiciary," Chavan remarked after the ruling.

He said Rao had "erred in sanctioning the prosecution" against him particularly since his predecessor, K. Sankaranarayanan had rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation's plea.

Shortly after the verdict, spontaneous celebrations erupted in Nanded, Chavan's hometown, where his supporters raised anti-BJP slogans and Congressmen condemned the "dirty politics of untruths" pursued by the BJP.