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Maharashtra's former chief minister Ashok Chavan on Wednesday downplayed the opposition’s attack against him for being nominated by the Congress from Nanded constituency in the Marathwada region in Maharashtra.
BJP in particular had criticised Congress alleging that it was shielding Chavan despite his alleged involvement in the Adarsh scam. Chavan also received a major boost after the party president Sonia Gandhi defended his nomination.
However, a visibly relaxed Chavan, who filed his nominations in the presence of state Congress chief Manikrao Thakre, said he has not yet proved guilty in the Adarsh scam and he was legally eligible to contest the Lok Sabha polls.
''I had not exerted any pressure on the party high command for the nomination. Nobody would have stopped the party high command from giving me the candidature as I have not yet proved guilty. We will win hands down,'' Chavan said after a massive rally in the Nanded city.
Chavan, who has been keeping a low profile after he stepped down as the state chief minister in November 2010 due to his alleged involvement in the Adarsh scam, said the Adarsh episode had not impacted him much. Instead, winning the Nanded seat was his priority.
The state Congress party also came into Chavan's support. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Ratnakar Mahajan told Business Standard, ''There is no FIR or any judicial proceedings going against Chavan. Whatever has been said in the judicial commission is in the form of an inference whose is evidential value is questionable.''
