Speaking to Arab News on Monday, a senior Congress leader confirmed that Sonia was very upset over the controversy in the media, and has decided to change both the chief minister and state Congress chief.
The minister said that Sonia was not impressed with the performance of Chavan and has suggested the names of federal power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and federal minister at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Prithviraj Chavan.
As for Thakre, he would be replaced by the outspoken senior Congress leader and state revenue minister Narayan Rane, once the blue-eyed boy of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. Thakre may be accommodated in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in Delhi, the Congress minister said.
When Chavan was asked about the likely change of the chief minister during his visit to Nanded on Monday, he denied that the Congress leadership was thinking on those lines.
Thakre and senior Congress leader from Nagpur, Satish Chaturvedi were caught on the TV cameras saying prior to Sonia's rally in Wardha that Chief Minister Chavan had promised to dole out 20 million rupees from his personal account and rupees one million from each Congress minister for the rally. Chavan denied Thakre's version and said he had only said that money would be collected from the party workers to pay for the bus transport charges for the rally. Taking a dig at Chavan, Thakre was quoted on the TV camera as saying "Now the CM has come on track."
In another development, former Samajwadi general secretary and now the national president of his new party 'Lok Manch' Amar Singh said here on Monday, he was willing to meet Shiv Sena working president Uddhav and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Raj Thackeray, if that could solve the problem of maintaining peace and communal harmony in the state as well as peace among the Marathi people and the migrants from North India.
Singh was speaking to the media on the occasion of declaring the working committee list of his party. He said: "Whatever happened in Mumbai before, the city suffered much damage. Migrant brothers are returning again from Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai. And I hope that in future anti-migrant controversy will not occur," he added.
