Mumbai:
The Congress' alliance with Sharad Pawar has been under considerable strain recently. Now, the cracks are showing.
Pawar has dealt the latest blow by meeting Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, to discuss the safety of Australian cricketers during the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"There cannot be two authorities in the state. There cannot be an extra-constitutional authority in the state," snapped Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
That opinion reflects what many believe - that it's offensive for Thackeray to be consulted on the issue. Thackeray and his party, the Shiv Sena, have threatened to attack Australian cricketers when they arrive in India to play for the IPL, scheduled to start in March. The Sena says this is to protest against repeated attacks against Indians in Australia.
Political pundits, however, believe that Pawar's consultation with Thackeray is the Union Agriculture Minister's way of retaliating against the Congress, whose ministers, at a recent meeting, attacked Pawar over the issue of rising food prices.
On record, Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (PCP) says his meeting with Thackeray cannot be taken as a snub to the Congress because Pawar sought Thackeray's advice not as a minister, but as the President of the Maharashtra Cricket Association. "I don't see any political motivation behind this meeting," defended NCP leader Praful Patel.
Proving that it has been irked by the meeting, the Congress has once again blamed Pawar for food prices. In a statement that rejects what Pawar has been saying - that the entire cabinet decides these issues - the Congress party spokesperson said, "Who meets whom is their business. The Congress does not believe in bashing we do believe in collective responsibility but there is also collective and differential responsibility. Food inflation squarely falls under the Agriculture Ministry and the Congress party is well within its right to articulate that position."
Congress leaders also want to know that if Pawar went to Thackeray to discuss security for Australian players in the IPL, does that mean he has no faith in the state government - whose home department is controlled by his own party? Deputy chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal was left struggling for an answer: "No, we are fully capable of providing all the security needed. We are confident. But why should any player face even a little bit of tension? That's why Pawar Saheb went."
The elephant in the room that neither party acknowledges on record is that Pawar met Thackeray as the Sena launched a vitriolic attack on Congress icon Rahul Gandhi.
The Shiv Sena spent last week protesting against Rahul Gandhi for saying that the Sena should stop targeting migrant labourers from Bihar and UP in Mumbai; after all, he pointed out, many commandos who fought for Mumbai during the city's 26/11 attacks were from these states. The Sena retaliated by threatening to disrupt Gandhi's next trip to Mumbai. Despite the warnings, Gandhi not only visited Mumbai on Friday, but won political and public applause for a last-minute change in plans, ditching his helicopter to ride on two local trains in the city. The message was clear: Gandhi was unfazed by the Sena, and the city would not be held hostage by the Sena's hooliganism. (Read: Pawar meets Sena for IPL, snubs Congress?)
Equally, Pawar's meeting with Thackeray sends strong signals, say analysts. It reinforces that Pawar and Thackeray are old allies and friends, and that Pawar is retaliating to various attacks by Congress ministers against him over the issue of rising food prices.
Earlier this month, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had said there was no need for foreign cricketers to worry about their security in India. "We reject the thesis of Shiv Sena or MNS. Mumbai belongs to all of India. I am sure the Maharashtra Government is capable of handling it. Let the Pakistani and Australians play in India. I guarantee them security," said the Home Minister.
Just hours before his meeting with Thackeray on Sunday, at a speech in Aurangabad, Pawar had said, "They keep saying, if they come here we won't allow them to play. I'm going to ask him: What is this you're doing? We have all become old. Now what to fight over this? I'll meet him and tell him. We're old friends. We keep criticizing each other but we also talk to each other. Young boys want to play and why should we stop them. We're such a big country. What is the message we're sending to the world? Why should we get into all this?"
Thackeray has said it will take him a couple of days to decide on whether to "allow" Australian players to participate in the IPL.
Pawar has dealt the latest blow by meeting Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, to discuss the safety of Australian cricketers during the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"There cannot be two authorities in the state. There cannot be an extra-constitutional authority in the state," snapped Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
That opinion reflects what many believe - that it's offensive for Thackeray to be consulted on the issue. Thackeray and his party, the Shiv Sena, have threatened to attack Australian cricketers when they arrive in India to play for the IPL, scheduled to start in March. The Sena says this is to protest against repeated attacks against Indians in Australia.
Political pundits, however, believe that Pawar's consultation with Thackeray is the Union Agriculture Minister's way of retaliating against the Congress, whose ministers, at a recent meeting, attacked Pawar over the issue of rising food prices.
On record, Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (PCP) says his meeting with Thackeray cannot be taken as a snub to the Congress because Pawar sought Thackeray's advice not as a minister, but as the President of the Maharashtra Cricket Association. "I don't see any political motivation behind this meeting," defended NCP leader Praful Patel.
Proving that it has been irked by the meeting, the Congress has once again blamed Pawar for food prices. In a statement that rejects what Pawar has been saying - that the entire cabinet decides these issues - the Congress party spokesperson said, "Who meets whom is their business. The Congress does not believe in bashing we do believe in collective responsibility but there is also collective and differential responsibility. Food inflation squarely falls under the Agriculture Ministry and the Congress party is well within its right to articulate that position."
Congress leaders also want to know that if Pawar went to Thackeray to discuss security for Australian players in the IPL, does that mean he has no faith in the state government - whose home department is controlled by his own party? Deputy chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal was left struggling for an answer: "No, we are fully capable of providing all the security needed. We are confident. But why should any player face even a little bit of tension? That's why Pawar Saheb went."
The elephant in the room that neither party acknowledges on record is that Pawar met Thackeray as the Sena launched a vitriolic attack on Congress icon Rahul Gandhi.
The Shiv Sena spent last week protesting against Rahul Gandhi for saying that the Sena should stop targeting migrant labourers from Bihar and UP in Mumbai; after all, he pointed out, many commandos who fought for Mumbai during the city's 26/11 attacks were from these states. The Sena retaliated by threatening to disrupt Gandhi's next trip to Mumbai. Despite the warnings, Gandhi not only visited Mumbai on Friday, but won political and public applause for a last-minute change in plans, ditching his helicopter to ride on two local trains in the city. The message was clear: Gandhi was unfazed by the Sena, and the city would not be held hostage by the Sena's hooliganism. (Read: Pawar meets Sena for IPL, snubs Congress?)
Equally, Pawar's meeting with Thackeray sends strong signals, say analysts. It reinforces that Pawar and Thackeray are old allies and friends, and that Pawar is retaliating to various attacks by Congress ministers against him over the issue of rising food prices.
Earlier this month, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had said there was no need for foreign cricketers to worry about their security in India. "We reject the thesis of Shiv Sena or MNS. Mumbai belongs to all of India. I am sure the Maharashtra Government is capable of handling it. Let the Pakistani and Australians play in India. I guarantee them security," said the Home Minister.
Just hours before his meeting with Thackeray on Sunday, at a speech in Aurangabad, Pawar had said, "They keep saying, if they come here we won't allow them to play. I'm going to ask him: What is this you're doing? We have all become old. Now what to fight over this? I'll meet him and tell him. We're old friends. We keep criticizing each other but we also talk to each other. Young boys want to play and why should we stop them. We're such a big country. What is the message we're sending to the world? Why should we get into all this?"
Thackeray has said it will take him a couple of days to decide on whether to "allow" Australian players to participate in the IPL.
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