A group of young Congress Ministers in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government on Wednesday requested senior party leader and Public Works Department Minister Ashok Chavan to avoid making controversial statements that can destabilise the government.
Mr. Chavan had claimed this week that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had sought a written undertaking from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray that the government would work within the ambit of the Constitution. While the Sena denied the claim, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said the only written document the three parties had inked was the common minimum programme.
A Congress Minister said, “There have been several comments and replies made to them. This creates unnecessary tension and an atmosphere of confusion among party workers and citizens.” He said the party’s State unit sees repeated controversies as a hindrance to the functioning of the government.
The Minister said, “We can only put in a request to our senior leaders. As long as the government is following the common minimum programme, there should not be any problem in its functioning.”
Of the three parties, the Congress has struggled to come to terms with being in an alliance with the Sena. The NCP has found itself playing the role of a mediator with the Congress locking horns with the Sena over statements on Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar and the Chief Minister submitting the undertaking.
Though the MVA had decided to set up a coordination committee of senior leaders to ensure the smooth functioning of the government, no steps have been taken so far.
