MUMBAI: The Congress on Friday appointed senior leader Mohan Prakash to conduct an inquiry into the recent political developments in Maharashtra, where the party saw cross-voting by seven of its MLAs in the Legislative Council elections, while nearly a dozen legislators were absent during a trust vote in the Assembly which was won by the Eknath Shinde government.
An All India Congress Committee (AICC) statement did not specifically mention about the cross-voting or absenteeism, but said Prakash, a former general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra, will submit a report to party president Sonia Gandhi.
The announcement comes in the wake of state party leaders holding meetings with the central leadership and demanding a probe into the cross-voting by seven Congress MLAs in the June 20 Legislative Council elections.
The cross-voting had led to the defeat of Congress candidate Chandrakant Handore, a former minister and Dalit leader.
Similarly, 11 Congress MLAs, including some former ministers, were absent during voting on the motion of confidence moved in the Assembly on July 4 which was comfortably won by the Shinde-led government which is being supported by the BJP.
The Congress, which has 44 MLAs in the state, was a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government which collapsed in June-end following a revolt by a section of Shiv Sena MLAs led by Shinde.