Cong-NCP war is out in open

Possibility of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) eating into Congress’s votebank in Mumbai and the increasing popularity of NCP’s star campaigner and Deputy Chief Minister RR Patil seem to have left the Congress worried.  Frustration within the Congress came to the fore with Mumbai Region Congress Committee (MRCC) president Gurudas Kamat going to the extent of demanding Patil’s resignation for his alleged failure in handling the issue of Dalit killings in Khairlanji and also in Malegaon bomb blasts.

Kamat demanded the same during an interview on a local news channel. The channel has been airing the footage of Kamat demanding Patil’s resignation round-the-clock for the last three days. This has raised eyebrows. Patil broke his silence on Sunday and expressed surprise over Kamat’s demand. He said all the issues that Kamat was now raising had been addressed and had lost their steam long back.

“Maybe, Kamat is raising all issues and demanding my resignation because I have refused to oblige him when he came to me with some undue demands. I am not disclosing demands and their nature, but I may expose him at opportune time,” Patil said. A furious Kamat issued a release challenging Patil to make public those “undue demands” or face legal action. In his statement, Kamat said, “Patil has hit below the belt. I have never visited him in either his Mantralaya office or at his residence. In fact, I have not even gone to any Congress minister ever with any undue demand or request in my 34 years of political career.”