Congress and Sharad Pawar strike peace, coordination committee will be created

New Delhi: Sharad Pawar versus the Congress may have started out with a bang, but it ended with a whimper. Mr Pawar has abandoned his threat to quit the government after the Congress agreed to set up a coordination committee to ensure its allies are consulted and involved in important decisions. After a meeting with Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister this evening,  Mr Pawar's deputy, Praful Patel, read out a joint statement: "After deliberations, it was decided to set up an effective coordination mechanism very soon to ensure the cohesive functioning of the UPA... and to ensure UPA allies meet once a month to discuss policy and other issues." He said a similar coordination committee will be created shortly in Mumbai as well, where the NCP and Congress co-govern the state.  The fact that the NCP was allowed to share this statement, signed by the Congress president and the PM, is seen as a face-saving gesture granted to Mr Pawar's party.

Mr Pawar's party, the NCP, has been steadily retreating from the aggressive stand it took last week, when he wrote to the PM and implied that the NCP may provide external support to the ruling coalition which is led by the Congress. The Prime Minister told NDTV this morning, "We are ready to speak to the NCP (Mr Pawar's party) on any issue that concerns them...in coalition politics, there is give and take." His comments came after a conciliatory statement made by Mr Pawar's deputy, Praful Patel. "We have not issued any ultimatum to the Congress....all issues can be resolved through dialogue," said Mr Patel, who is Heavy Industries minister, to NDTV this morning.

Like Mr Pawar, he skipped the last Cabinet meeting on Thursday; neither minister had been seen at work since Friday. NCP leaders said their party was treated like a rubber stamp in Delhi, denied of any real say in major appointments or policies.

In Maharashtra, where the Congress and the NCP share power, tempers flared.  Mr Patel said his party's ministers felt they were not shown any respect by the Congress. The NCP also faulted Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan for indecision and under-performance. Then yesterday, Mr Patel said he had not asked for a change in leadership in Maharashtra - sources say the Congress played hardball and refused to pressure Mr Chavan to alter his plans to increase accountability and transparency in government departments.

Last week, Mr Pawar's note to the PM and Mrs Gandhi catalogued his party's grievances; NCP leaders talked tough. Mr Patel publicly accused the Congress of misreporting the facts of the dispute. He said it was incorrectly being stated that Mr Pawar was upset because he was not seated next to the PM at recent cabinet meets - that position, reserved for the second-most senior cabinet member, used to be occupied by Pranab Mukherjee and was taken by Defence Minister AK Antony after Mr Mukherjee quit the government to run successfully for President of India