Congress ready to discuss issues with NCP, says PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said that the Congress is ready to discuss issues with nationalist Congress Party issues that concern them even as Congress President Sonia Gandhi declined comments on the stand-off with the coalition partner.

"We are discussing with them (NCP)," the prime minister said on the trouble between the two United Progressive Alliance constituents over issues on which NCP has threatened to pull out of the government.

Asked about the possibility of forming a coordination committee for better functioning of the government, Singh told NDTV, "We are ready to discuss with NCP on issues. In politics, there is give and take."

However, Gandhi refused to comment on the issue.

"I am not going to answer any of your questions," she said when reporters asked her about the stand-off with NCP and whether it would be over soon.

Reflecting her bonhomie with the leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Gandhi went along with her into her room in Parliament House after the swearing-in ceremony of new President Pranab Mukherjee. She stayed there for some time.