Any which way, Cong wants to be rid of latest millstone

Sources said the talks centred on how to persuade Buta Singh to resign. But Patil said that the government could act on the court’s verdict earliest by Friday. ‘‘I won’t give a timeframe but it would probably be day after tomorrow,’’ he said.

Patil, whose ministry moved Singh’s report recommending the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly for Cabinet approval, declined to comment on whether the government would take recourse to filing a review petition with the apex court.

Although the reason for deferring the decision was pinned on the Saudi King’s state visit and the sheer length of the 450-page Supreme Court judgement, insiders said it was to provide Singh an honourable exit.