PM,Sonia fail to sway NCP; Pawar,Patel skip office

Patel,however,refuted reports that he as well as Pawar had tendered their resignations to the PM and said that the NCP would remain a part and parcel of the UPA.

Sources said the NCP is likely to stick to its position seeking resolution of its grievances till the meeting of its working committee on Monday afternoon.

The PM had called up Pawar for a discussion on Thursday as soon as he received his “communication” raising questions about the Congress’s coalition management style and underlining that the NCP’s views were never given due regard.

Sonia too had called up Pawar late Thursday night,hours after the letter was received,proposing a meeting. While she wanted to meet last night itself,the NCP chief suggested that it was late and that they meet Friday morning.

Briefing reporters,Patel said matters had come to such a point only because several issues raised by the NCP had been kept pending by the Congress leadership. While admitting that the controversy over Pawar being overlooked in the official pecking order was one such issue,he added that it was being “blown out of proportion”.

Saying that Pawar had discussed “issues of functioning of the coalition” with Sonia,Patel said: “The NCP has been one of the pillars of the UPA. It has always behaved as a responsible ally. We never voiced public protests when petrol prices were hiked. There have been some political issues raised between the Congress and NCP. These issues should be addressed in the larger interest of a healthy coalition.”

Congress managers have been rushing in to placate the NCP,calling Pawar a respected leader of the alliance,concerned that any move by other allies like the Trinamool Congress or DMK to join in could rock the UPA boat.

Among the proposals to assuage the coalition partners being considered includes setting up of a coordination committee. Another was setting up a three-member panel including senior ministers A K Antony,Pawar and the leader of the house (which could be Sushilkumar Shinde) to look after government affairs in the absence of the PM. This could be a way out of addressing the tricky issue of who comes first in the pecking order.

Among the issues that the NCP feels aggrieved about are the Lavasa controversy,the sports Bill,disinvestment proposals besides appointment of senior government functionaries.

“Even on issues relating to Maharashtra,where we have been sharing power with the Congress,our views have been consistently ignored,” a senior party leader said.

The party leader added that they had first contemplated raising these issues with the Congress two months ago,and that the matter of who will be No. 2 in the government was only the triggering point.

“Why did the issue of No. 2 become a controversy? You made him sit in a certain position first,then you shifted him to another seat. Pawar has never sought any seat. Despite the NCP being a small party,he has been accorded respect because of the stature that he holds. Even in the Lok Sabha,he sits next to Congress president Sonia Gandhi,” another NCP leader said.