Ranjit Deshmukh quits CLP post

MUMBAI, OCT 20: The four-day-old Congress-led government in the State on Wednesday suffered a major setback following the decision of Ranjeet Deshmukh to quit as leader of the Congress Legislature Party CLP in the upper house. Deshmukh is apparently protesting his exclusion from the cabinet.

However, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has not attached much importance to his decision saying it was a challenge thrown to the party high command. 8220;It was wrong on the part of Ranjeet Deshmukh to say that my election is undemocratic. My election was announced after the party legislators empowered to the high command to take a decision,8221; the Chief Minister said.

In his letter to the Chief Minister, Ranjeet Deshmukh, former Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president, said that it would be improper for him to retain his position because conventionally it is one of the ministers from the upper house who is chosen leader of the party in the council.