MUMBAI: The crisis and infighting within the Maharashtra Congress party worsened further yesterday, with Revenue Minister Narayan Rane reiterating his threat to resign from the Congress-led Democratic Front government headed by Vilasrao Deshmukh following a war-of-words with the chief minister over the allotment of land to the Videocon Group at Navi Mumbai.
“The government is not for the common man, but is serving the interests of one man — Vilasrao Deshmukh,” Rane said. When the matter came up for discussion in the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Rane and some ministers of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), objected.
Rane’s angry outbursts were over IRS 8,000 crore Videcon group project on a 250 acre land in Navi Mumbai, the proposal which was moved by Deshmukh much against the wishes of Rane.
This was so strongly protested by Rane that he insisted on recording his reservations on the proposal in writing in the Cabinet. Though this left other ministers stunned, Rane failed to isolate Deshmukh.
Rane launched a blistering attack against Deshmukh in the Cabinet meeting for approving the sale of City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra to the Videocon group for the project.
Rane told Arab News that the allotment of this huge land was a major scandal that has left the government bleeding by more than IRS 3,000 crore. He accused the chief minister of underselling government land, a charge refuted Rane’s charges as baseless and said that every state was wooing the private sector.
Rane who has threatened to resign for the second time in four months said “I will meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi in Delhi this week and press my resignation.”
In response, Deshmukh said that the state may have to give some concessions, but struck a hard bargain with the Videocon group.
“The project of liquid crystal display panels is first of its kind being launched in India. The state should be proud,” he said and was supported by Finance Minister Jayant Patil of the NCP.
Meanwhile, the All-India Congress Committee General Secretary Margaret Alva held talks with Rane yesterday and tried to pacify him, but he was in no mood of relenting. Deshmukh also discussed the issue with Alva and Sonia Gandhi’s political adviser Ahmed Patel and complained against Rane’s behavior.
