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AICC team rues role of money power in Maharashtra RS election

The three-member inquiry team deputed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to probe the defeat of party candidate and former Union home secretary Ram Pradhan in last week's Rajya Sabha election from Maharashtra, said the state has started a dangerous trend of buying votes, and expressed concern that the Congress had been infected by this disease.

Briefing reporters at Gandhi Bhavan, office of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee office in South Bombay, Kotla Vijayabhaskar Reddy, chairman of the party's disciplinary action committee and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister, said the Congress high command has taken the defeat of the party's official candidate very seriously, and added that he, along with former Kerala chief minister A K Antony and Congress Working Committee member Rajesh Pilot have been hearing the opinion of various Congress legislators, leader of the legislative party and the MPCC president.

He said the team was trying to understand the situation that led to Pradhan's defeat. ''We have to preserve the Congress for the country. Visible and serious action will be taken against the guilty,'' he added.

Pilot said for the first time, money has played an important role during elections in the state and added that although it will be very difficult for the inquiry team to find out the culprits, the party can take corrective measures to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

Antony said the team was in the process of understanding things and it will convey its assessment to the party president. Pilot also said leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sharad Pawar contacted Sonia before leaving for London and appraised her of the situation.

The three-member team avoided any questions regarding the Pawar factor in Pradhan's defeat, and did not feel that infighting within the state party unit was responsible for it.

Pilot said there was no resentment in the state party unit over Pradhan's candidature. Before giving tickets, the opinion of all Maharashtra leaders was taken. Besides, Congressmen were happy that an educated person like Pradhan would represent the state in the Rajya Sabha. Pilot also said the retired bureaucrat has been a member of the All India Congress Committee for the past eight years.

Reddy said the team did not have any knowledge of the list of possible ''mischief makers'' submitted by the state leadership to the central party observers.

UNI

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