Insisting that there is no rift either between members of the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), or within the Congress, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has claimed that it is the media that is perpetuating stories about discontent within the two parties. The CM added that some party MLAs have demanded their induction in the cabinet.
Chavan, while addressing the media on Thursday at the Sahyadri guesthouse, said that none of the MLAs had made complaints against him. He, however, admitted that there are some development-related issues that need to be addressed. “I have seen the letter written by some MLAs and it has only thirteen points related to development work. Decisions will be taken by conducting region-wise meetings,” he added.
Chavan said that he is well-coordinated with NCP members. “I do discuss various issues with deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar from time to time. However, we will now resort to formal meetings of the coordination committees regularly,” he said. Chavan also added that meetings of coordination committees at the state and Centre will be convened every month.
When asked about corruption charges levelled against some of his colleagues in the state cabinet, the CM said that he has no role to play and whatever was happening was according to the law.
He also clarified that the presenting of a white paper on the status of irrigation projects was not to be taken as pointing the finger at any leader or holding him responsible. “The only intention was to apprise people about the status of irrigation projects. People from across the state have been complaining about incomplete projects. The projects are delayed despite huge amounts of funds being spent on them,” he said.
