Deshmukh-Rane feud unfortunate, says Patil

KOLHAPUR: At a time when the state is reeling from drought conditions, with farmers extremely tense and worried, it is very unfortunate that feud between Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Revenue Minister Narayan Rane is continuing without an end in sight, said R.R. Patil, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state deputy chief minister in the Democratic Front government.

Speaking to the media in Kolhapur yesterday, Patil said that Rane had submitted his resignation over two months ago, but this news was kept under wraps in hopes that relations between Rane and Deshmukh would have time to cool. The resignation was not submitted to the state governor's office until Thursday.