 "Maharashtra Cong chief writes to CM Thackeray, seeks implementation of CMP")
Congress, which is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government in Maharashtra, on Wednesday wrote to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and demanded implementation of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP).
The CMP could not be implemented properly in the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, said state Congress chief Nana Patole in the letter.
Now that the intensity of the pandemic has declined, the Common Minimum Programme should be implemented. Schemes should be planned and implemented for the welfare of Dalits, OBCs and the minorities, he said.
The other two prominent constituents of the MVA are the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Patole reminded the chief minister that when Congress agreed to be part of the MVA, "it was decided that the government will run on the basis of the Common Minimum Programme.
Patole's letter indicated an unease in the MVA.
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Congress ministers and MLAs have often complained that their departments or constituencies get less funds than the ministries controlled by NCP ministers and constituencies of NCP MLAs.
At the pole position in the state till 2014, the Grand Old Party has been relegated to the fourth position in the state now.
Speaking to reporters in Pune, Patole said he wrote to Thackeray about the CMP as the pandemic was now over.
He also said that Congress will continue to lead the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Asked about the NCP's youth wing passing a resolution recommending party supremo Sharad Pawar's name for the post of UPA chairperson, Patole said NCP workers were free to pass such resolutions.
"But Congress is the only alternative to the BJP at the national level and Congress alone will lead the UPA," he said.
About rumblings in the MVA over the allocation of funds in the Budget, Patole said people know very well how the relations between the ruling alliance partners were during the previous BJP government.
"Differences are bound to arise... it is a good sign that there is healthy competition among MLAs for development for constituencies. If there is imbalance, the CM should do justice to such constituencies," he said.
Sena MLA Tanaji Sawant had recently alleged that his party was being neglected by the state government.
About some Congress MLAs meeting Sonia Gandhi, Patole said she was the leader of the party, and the opposition need not make fuss about such meetings.