The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday opposed the governments plan to deregulate diesel prices and also decided to hold a farmers rally at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on May 16 to highlight farmers issues like ban on the export of farm commodities,an issue on which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already convened a meeting of key ministers on April 30. The latest move by the Congress ally further strengthens the perception that there are growing cracks in the ruling alliance at the Centre. The NCPs move came a day after the party dissociated itself from the decision to suspend eight Congress MPs from the Telangana region from the Lok Sabha for four days for disrupting proceedings. NCP chief Sharad Pawar was learnt to have called up party MPs asking them not to associate themselves with the motion,moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal,for the suspension. NCP sources said Pawar supported the cause of Telangana and did not want to be a party to any action against the MPs for raising this issue. Asked about the NCPs decision to hold a farmers rally on farm exports ban,Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told The Indian Express,We have already been taking up this issue at the highest level in the government. The Centre should not ban exports of cotton or sugar or milk powder. After the NCPs Extended Working Committee meeting on Wednesday,party general secretary D P Tripathi said the NCP would oppose any increase in the prices of diesel,power and fertilisers and wants no ban on the export of farm commodities. The opposition from the NCP could make it difficult for Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to carry out his plans,as envisaged in his Budget,to cut fertiliser and diesel subsidies. Reacting to the NCP move,a senior Congress leader said,How can Sharad Pawar who holds the Agriculture portfolio organise a farmers rally on issues like ban on exports of farm commodities and MSPs? What kind of signal will it send out about the UPA government. Pawar,who was the most trusted ally of the Congress in UPA-I,has,of late,been critical of the Congress questioning its coalition dharma in the wake of recent Maharashtra civic polls and has been airing his reservation against many government policies. Congress sources are of the view that the NCP is increasingly distancing itself from the Congress and the government to insulate itself against the UPA-IIs anti-incumbency. NCP sources,however,asserted that though the party has always remained the Congresss most steady ally,it has to respond to farmers in its constituency.
