'Pawar no petty leader; we have larger issues with Cong'

The Nationalist Congress Party's stand-off with the Congress leadership continued on Friday with the party saying it has "serious issues" over the functioning of the government and the coalition but remained vague on reports of resignation by senior ministers Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel.

After a meeting between NCP chief Pawar and Congress President Sonia Gandhi this morning and with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last night, the party, however, said it continues to be an "integral" part of the UPA.

Rejecting as "absurd" that Pawar was upset over the denial of Number 2 slot in the Cabinet, Patel said the party has raised "completely different" issues with the Prime Minister in a communication and with Sonia Gandhi and what ultimately the party decides will be communicated after its meeting on Monday.

With Agency inputs

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"We are unhappy with some aspects which have been raised by Pawar in personal meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi," Patel said after Pawar held confabulations with senior party colleagues.

Asked whether Pawar and he have resigned, Heavy Industries Minister Patel said, "till such time we have not given any formal resignation... the issue is not resignation... till it is not accepted...we have sent a communication."

Without disclosing the specific aspects of discord, he said, "our issues are: functioning of the government, functioning of UPA and functioning of the larger coalition."

A top political manager, who has powerful connections across important constituents of the NDA and UPAI,  told rediff.com that the resignation ploy by NCP's Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel is just a ploy to wrest back the aviation portfolio as well as pitch for industries and mining ministry in the forthcoming cabinet reshuffle expected soon after the winner of the presidential election is declared on July 22.

This source said he was confident that Pawar and Patel will take their resignations back by 5 pm. "Or  at least in the next 24 hours Pawar and company would have got their demands fulfilled," said this source.

Incidentally, Patel is a former Union aviation minister. Though Patel has categorically denied in a press conference today that they have not resigned this source claimed they have resigned last evening to drive home the point indicating that the NCP has been sidelined in UPA-II.  

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Patel said the UPA-II was entering the last two years of its term and NCP wanted the government to be "more decisive" and "more committed" to the issues before the people of the country.

"We do have certain issues on which we want some new direction," he said

Patel accused some sections in the Congress of fuelling speculation that Pawar was upset over denial of Number 2 slot. Even today they are spreading stories in the media that some of the demands of Pawar have been met and some cannot be met and that he cannot be given the Number 2 slot as NCP does not have the numbers.

"Unreasonable and unnecessary comments are being made by sections in the Congress party to create a wedge. These issues should be addressed in the larger interest of the coalition," he said.

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Patel said, "Pawar is not such a petty leader who will raise such a petty issue himself. Our issues are larger. The issue of Number 2 has been blown out of proportion...By virtue of his stature Pawar sits next to Sonia (in Parliament) and used to sit next to Pranab Mukherjee (in Cabinet meetings).

"He (Pawar) had not asked for it. That he was not given by virtue of numbers. If that is the logic, NCP had less even in UPA-I. The UPA and the Congress leadership realise that by his stature he brings much more to the table."

"In fact, those raising this issue are petty themselves. NCP is not petty to make this an issue on whether we will continue in government or not."

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