Rane sorry,says will stay in Cong

Keen to build bridges with senior party leaders to get a reprieve from the high command,suspended Congress leader Narayan Rane....

Keen to build bridges with senior party leaders to get a reprieve from the high command,suspended Congress leader Narayan Rane on Wednesday expressed regret to Ahmed Patel,political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi,and also his readiness to sit across the table with his bete noir,former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. It was his outburst against these leaders last month that had led to his suspension from the party.

I am and will be in the Congress. There is no question of floating any new party. I will discharge whatever responsibility is given to me by the party high command, Rane told The Indian Express after a telephonic conversation with Patel followed by a half-an-hour meeting with AICC in-charge of the state A K Antony who is also the chairman of AICC Disciplinary Action Committee.

Talking to Sonias political secretary,Rane was learnt to have expressed regret for his outburst against party leaders. In the race for succession after Deshmukhs resignation last month,Rane had emerged a frontrunner getting the support of 48 MLAs as against 32 for Ashok Chavan,backed by the outgoing CM. Ranes claim for the coveted post was,however,ignored.

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Ahmed Patel was understood to have assured Rane on Wednesday that he held no grudge against him. We all work in the interest of the party and you have already realised your mistake, he is said to have told Rane. Patel and Antony told Rane that they would convey his sentiments to the Congress president.

Asked why he decided to stay in the Congress,Rane told The Indian Express: The new Chief Minister (Ashok Chavan) asked me to stay with him. We need you and will give you all respect,he told me. I,therefore,thought it proper to stay in the Congress for the people of Maharashtra.

Although Chavan is junior to him,Rane is not averse to working under him in the state Cabinet. While he had earlier declined the offer of the posts of State Campaign Committee chairman and PCC president,he is now ready to accept whatever is offered to him.

Meanwhile,Rane on Wednesday said he expected a positive decision about him soon. The process is on from their side and I feel that a positive decision will be taken in the next few days.

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