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[nahia]

NEW DELHI: There's more bad news for Vilasrao Deshmukh. The stinging indictment of the former Maharashtra chief minister for choosing a moneylender MLA over poor farmers is likely to test the post-Adarsh high bar for impropriety set by Congress, with opinion building against Deshmukh.

The Supreme Court order on Tuesday is politically fraught as it goes against the Congress's claim of cracking down on private moneylenders and working to improve farmers' lot in the suicide bowl of Vidarbha. Besides Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's rejuvenation package for the region, Rahul Gandhi's mention of Kalavati as the face of poverty set the tone for Congress claiming the "farmer-friendly" face in UPA-1. Deshmukh, approached for his comment, said, "I have asked for a copy of the SC order. I will speak only after reading it."

Congress too maintained a studied silence on the issue on Wednesday but there was a growing sentiment for action. Leaders said that only "visible remedial measure" against the Union minister for heavy industries could check the political damage to Congress in the region infested with farmers' suicides.

"The issue is sensitive as the apex court has linked Deshmukh's shielding of moneylending Sananda family with farmers' suicide. It is no longer a simple allegation of favouritism but an SC order which is law of the land," a senior Congress leader said. According to sources, in the aftermath of SC order, the urgent need is for Congress to spell out a clear stand on "zero tolerance against private moneylending". The demand is necessitated by fears that the Opposition BJP-Shiv Sena can turn it into a potent political issue.

Congress is in power in Maharashtra for the third successive time that further shrinks the party's room for alibi.
The SC pronouncement, coming after the Adarsh housing scam that claimed CM Ashok Chavan, has party groups say that morality plank would gnaw at the party again. There are camps eager to see the back of Deshmukh. When Congress brass acted in Adarsh case, it was felt that impropriety becoming a consideration for posts may turn into an instrument in faction-fighting in state units.

Ironically, a leader said Deshmukh headed the strongest faction in the state unit and legislature group.