Uddhav Thackeray urges Congress not to succumb to NCP pressures

Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray, terming as "drama" Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's resignation, on Tuesday urged Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to accept it and not succumb to the Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) pressure.

"This is a drama and a pressure tactic by the Nationalist Congress Party. Chavan should not succumb to their pressures. He must accept the resignation, the people of the state will welcome it," Thackeray told a media conference here.

"The NCP is building up pressure on the Congress and virtually saying that we will indulge in corruption and nobody should question it. This is the time to act and Chavan must accept the resignation," he urged.

Thackeray said that though Chavan has enjoyed a clean image throughout his political career, it was imperative that even his cabinet colleagues were perceived to be untarnished.

"Chavan must not get scared by the NCP tactics and this drama will not last for long. He should tackle the threat headlong and put them in their place," he suggested.

Thackeray said that coming during the ongoing 10-day Ganeshotsav festival, the NCP move proved that Lord Ganesh was indeed a 'vignaharta' (removal of all obstacles) and this (Pawar's resignation) was "a good news".

He contended that by "the resignation drama," the NCP would not be able to bring down the ruling Congress-led state government.

"If they indeed quit, then they will also have to quit from the central government, but this drama will not last for long," Thackeray declared.