by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
Lokmat Exclusive
NCP-Congress form 10-member Committee
Coordination Committee to prepare CMP by Friday
Talks with Sena to begin on Sunday
Harish Gupta
New Delhi, Nov. 19
The process for installing the non-BJP government in Maharashtra moved further with the NCP and Congress parties agreeing to constitute 10-member coordination committee.
The committee will comprise five members each from both the parties. The first meeting between leaders of the two parties will be held tomorrow in Delhi.
Praful Patel, party general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP told Lokmat today that the two parties will prepare a Common Minimum Program (CMP) first. When asked why the two parties need a CMP, he said the two parties had contested on their own manifesto separately though they were partners. “We have to hammer out a our own CMP and then we will talk to Shiv Sena to evolve a CMP of the three parties,” he added.
He said this decision was taken when Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar held a meeting on Monday.
Bala Saheb Thorat, president of the Maharashtra Congress, Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Mallikarjun Kharge and one more leader may represent the Congress Party at the coordination committee.
Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, Jayant Patil, Sunil Tatkare and others.
Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar reported to have informally decided that the Congress-NCP CMP will be prepared within the next three days and then the talks with Shiv Sena will be held on the CMP of three parties.
Since Uddhav Thackeray has already cancelled his visit to Ayodhya on November 24 and has also called off his visit to Delhi to meet L K Advani, it indicates that he is now moving towards NCP-Congress to form an alternative government in Maharashtra minus BJP.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had invited Sena and NCP to prove its ability to form the government, failing which the President's Rule was imposed in the state on November 12. The assembly is in suspended animation. But can be revived anytime within six month if any of the parties stake claim to form the government.
Ends
