Frustrated souls at work, says a piqued Deshmukh

Frustrated souls at work, says a piqued Deshmukh
PRAFULLA MARPAKWAR

Mumbai, April 2: Embattled Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has shrugged off the charges of corruption levelled against him as well as a section of his cabinet colleagues, saying, ‘frustrated souls are at work’.

‘‘I would certainly have taken cognisance if the charges were serious and sensible, but there is absolutely no substance in them per se and obviously, they have been made out of frustration,’’ Deshmukh said.

In an exclusive interview to The Indian Express, Deshmukh said the Sena-BJP combine was thrown in a disarray in the aftermath of Tehelka tapes controversy and in the wake of its failure to uproot the Congress-led Democratic Front government.

‘‘That the Tehelka tapes have had the BJP in a tizzy is crystal clear. Now that they are shell-shocked, their idea of damage control with the help of the Shiv Sena is of maligning my and my cabinet colleagues’ image’’, Deshmukh said.‘‘The Sena-BJP alliance is also smarting from a humilitation. Their attempts to engineer a split in the Congress-led Democratic Front government and topple it have come a cropper’’, Deshmukh pointed out.

Launching a frontal attack oRane and Gadkari, Deshmukh said, both had raised the issue of the Latur-based Jawahar Spinning Mills, saying, there was corruption of Rs four crore in the sale of the sick mill. ‘‘I am prepared for a probe. The transaction has taken place as per judicial orders. Now that Rane has agreed to head the probe team, it was for the presiding officer to set up a committee to inquire into the allegations,’’ he added. Deshmukh said the demand made by Rane seeking judicial powers under the Commission of Inquiry Act, could not be accepted, since under the legislative rules, there is no such provision. ‘‘It will not be possible for us to appoint Rane under the Commission of Inquiry Act.

If the house decides to set up a joint committee, the terms of reference will have to be decided by the house itself,’’ he added. Ironically, even as the Chief Minister justified the action of his colleagues in stalling the proceedings in both the houses of the state legislature, following the Tehelka controversy, he, in the same breathe, also objected to the behaviour of the opposition, which did a similar thing to demand the resignation of Minister of State for Health Eknath Gaikwad.

‘‘The two are different issues. After the Tehelka controversy, all legislative assemblies in the country witnessed a spontaneous furore, while in case of Gaikwad, the charges of corruption were levelled against his personal assistant on the basis of an affidavit. It will be wrong to compare the two cases,’’ he said. Stating that the opposition parties had lost credibility, Deshmukh said it is unfortunate that they were unable to catch the government on wrong foot or make concrete suggestions, particularly in tackling the financial or drought situation.

‘‘Both Rane and Munde were to speak on the drought situation, but the discussion was initiated by another Sena leader Leeladhar Dake. This shows just how serious they are about the drought situation,’’ he added.

Deshmukh said for the first time in the history of Maharashtra, the budget speech of the Finance Minister was disturbed by the opposition for obvious reasons. ‘‘It was good that the live telecast of the budget showed how responsible the Opposition was in its behaviour,’’ he said.

The Chief Minister said he himself would take a lead on April 9, when the house reassembles after the recess to end the impasse. ‘‘It is not the question of the Chief Minister or of the Opposition. It is the question of nine crore people of this state, who have elected us. We will have to work for their cause,’’ he added.