NEW DELHI, Jan 5: The Congress' volte face against its earlier decision to take disciplinary action against the group of 40 MPs who had threatened to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today became evident to all. The Maharashtra Congress Committee (MCC) has cleared the name of two trouble-makers, Praful Patel and Dutta Raghobji Meghe, offering both of them the constituencies of their choice.The list of recommended candidates forwarded to Sitaram Kesri by the MCC do not pit anybody else against Patel and Meghe, thus making their candidature almost certain. But in contrast, the veteran Congressman and former Lok Sabha Speaker Shivaraj Patil has been made to suffer in silence. He finds his name with two others in the list of recommendations.The first indication of the Congress' new stance - the Disciplinary Action Committee chairman Vijay Bhaskar Reddy had threatened action against the rebels - came when Orissa Chief Minister J B Patnaik recommended candidature of Pinaki Mishra from Puri Lok Sabha seat. Pinaki, like Patel and Meghe, had resisted Sitaram Kesri's move to withdraw support to the United Front Government.
