Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today demanded a CBI inquiry into allegations of corruption against the BJP ministers Pankaja Munde and Vinod Tawde.
Chavan also said that Congress was planning to take recourse to legal remedy regarding the row over educational qualifications of Tawde and water supply minister Babanrao Lonikar.
Coming down heavily on the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra at a press conference here, the senior Congress leader said, "A CBI probe should be conducted in the corruption cases, as BJP had promised a clean and transparent government. But e-tendering procedure was set aside in procurements."
He was referring to procurement of chikki (a snack) and other things, worth Rs 206 crore, by the women and child welfare department which is under Munde, and that of fire extinguishers by the education department, which is under Tawde, without e-tendering.
"Earlier, the e-tendering was mandatory for procurement of Rs 50 lakh and above. I brought it down to Rs 10 lakh. The new government brought it down further to Rs 3 lakh. I want to ask the Chief Minister what he has to say on the rules being flouted?" Chavan asked.
Asked about BJP's contention that government was only following the process adopted by the previous Congress-NCP regime, Chavan said he was not averse to any inquiry into the purchases made by the previous government, but the present government must admit to its own lapses.
