Pawar meets Sonia, triggers speculation

Nationalist Congress Party chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar's courtesy call to Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursdayevening fuelled intense speculation even as both the parties insisted that it had nothing to do with politics.

The information that Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is rushing to Delhi on summons added momentum to rumour mills that Pawar had complained that Chavan keeps blaming his Nationalist Congress Party as the coalition partner for every wrong in the state.

The NCP strongly feels that Chavan has slowed down the processes of governance owing to his cautious approach and lack of control over bureaucracy.

 "Chavan does not clear files, doubts the intentions of the coalition partner and is unable to give a direction to the government," an NCP leader said amid speculation in the Congress circles about his fate.

The Congress sources, however, rule out any threat to Chavan.

The issues that may have figured in Pawar's talks with Sonia could be the Union Cabinet reshuffle, Anna Hazare's fresh threat to start agitation and his own assessment of drift in the United Progressive Alliance he stated recently, and his reservations on her dream Food Security Bill creating heavy subsidy burden on the exchequer.

If there were any discussions on the cabinet reshuffle, NCP sources say Heavy Praful Patel must have expressed his anguish at taking away the high profile Civil Aviation ministry, and dumping the Heavy Industries Ministry on him, in the where he could do little.

The NCP leaders, however, refused to deny or accept if there was any discussion on serious issues since also present in their meeting were Sonia's political secretary Ahmed Patel and senior NCP minister Praful Patel. There were 'pressing issues' in the UPA and hence it can not be said whether any cropped up, they said.

The NCP had to put out a clarification that it was just a courtesy call since Pawar had no chance to meet Sonia since after her return from the United States where she had gone for a surgery.