No wrongdoing in Adarsh Society matter: Shinde

Mumbai, Jan 6: Breaking his silence on the Adarsh Society scam, union Home Minister

on Monday dismissed allegations of

in the allotment of flats in the controversial building.

"There have been no wrongdoings in the Adarsh case. The land belongs to Maharashtra government and it was not reserved for Kargil (war heroes)," he told media persons after inaugurating a statue of B.R. Ambedkar in Kandivli at a function organised by local Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam.

"The land belongs to Maharashtra government and it was not reserved for jawans."

This was the first reaction from Shinde who was named among four former chief ministers of the state by the Adarsh Society judicial commission for their "political patronage" to the 31-storied building in south Mumbai.

The Maharashtra government had rejected the findings of the two-man commission report Dec 20 last year, but partially accepted it Jan 2, after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi spoke out against the decision (to reject it).

The commission, comprising retired high court judge Justice J.A. Patil and former chief secretary P. Subaramanium had accused four ex-chief ministers, including Shinde, the late Vilasrao Deshmukh, Ashok Chavan and Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar, for "blatant violations" of norms in the Adarsh Society matter.

IANS