15 August,2012 08:07 AM IST | | Harit N Joshi
It was a noisy affair at a packed Wankhede Stadium hall, but Deshmukh surprisingly stayed away from the spotlight. Seated in one corner of the dais, Deshmukh let his colleagues do all the talking as he silently watched the proceedings. He rarely spoke that evening and whenever he did, it was inaudible. Clearly, his illness had taken a toll on the former Maharashtra chief minister.
During the AGM, the political bigwig sought to put an end to the enduring issue of the Wankhede Stadium renovation cost, which had shot up from an estimated Rs 145 crore to 280 crore. The MCA president urged the affiliated members to be satisfied with the explanation provided by the officials on the issue.
Deshmukh left the hall as soon as the meeting ended. He did not interact much with the members like he normally did and only briefed reporters about the AGM for a few minutes without taking any questions. u00a0
