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Dudhat committee report against Sutar to be tabled before April 19

Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi yesterday informed the state assembly that the report of the M L Dudhat committee, which probed the alleged corruption charges against former agriculture minister Shashikant Sutar, will be tabled in the house by April 19 along with the Action Taken Report.

Replying to a point of propriety raised by R R Patil (Congress) and others, Joshi said the commission's report has been received by the government on October 20, 1997 and it could be submitted in the House any time before six months -- a deadline which expires by April 19.

Raising the point of propriety, Patil said the Puranik committee was constituted to inquire into the corruption charges against Sutar and former irrigation minister Mahadeorao Shivankar, but no such inquiry committee had been set up to inquire into the alleged corruption charges levelled against former food and civil supplies minister Shobhatai Phadnavis. At this, Bharatiya Janata Party members, including Kirit Somayya and Abhiram Singh strongly objected to Patil naming Phadnavis in her absence.

Patil said the Puranik committee had held Sutar guilty and given a clean chit to Shivankar. Later the Dudhat commission was set up only to probe into the charges against Sutar, he said, and demanded tabling the Dudhat report in the House.

Patil, amidst noisy scenes, continued saying that Shivankar and Phadnavis still remained in the ministry while Sutar was kept out of the ministry.

Supporting Patil, Sutar said, "It was my political murder," and demanded tabling the Dudhat commission's inquiry report in the House.

UNI

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