Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party leaders Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi skipped the swearing-in ceremony of Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday but wrote him letters, wishing him all success. In his letter, Singh conveyed his “heartfelt congratulations” to Uddhav and the ministers in his cabinet. “Certainty it is a historic event and I commend you on your visionary leadership,” he wrote. Rahul pointed out that the people of Maharashtra have high expectations from the coalition, and expressed confidence that the three-party government will provide them a “stable, secular and pro-poor government”. In his letter, Rahul said “the events leading to the Government formation in Maharashtra set a dangerous precedent for our democracy”. In her letter, Sonia said the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena had come together “under quite extraordinary circumstances.” “The political atmosphere has become poisonous and the economy has collapsed. The Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress have agreed to a common programme and I am confident that all three parties will strive their utmost to implement that programme. The people of Maharashtra expect the alliance to provide cohesive. administration.”
