Vijay Wadettiwar takes charge; now Balasaheb Thorat is sulking

Assured of one more portfolio, sulking Congress minister Vijay Wadettiwar took charge of his departments on Friday, while state Congress chief and revenue minister

Assured of one more portfolio, sulking Congress minister Vijay Wadettiwar took charge of his departments on Friday, while state Congress chief and revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat refused to take charge as the guardian minister of Kolhapur district as he was not happy with the allocation.

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The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government led by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray allocated the portfolios on January 5, six days after the cabinet was expanded by inducting 36 legislators from the Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Wadettiwar had stayed away from the cabinet meeting and skipped the special session of the Legislature held on Wednesday as he was unhappy at being given OBC welfare, Khar land and earthquake rehabilitation, relatively insignificant departments. He was pacified after Thackeray agreed to give the relief and rehabilitation department to him. “There was no question of being upset with the party leadership. The relief and rehabilitation department was allocated to the Congress as part of the power-sharing formula, but at the time of allocation, it was given to a Shiv Sena minister. I have been assured by the chief minister that the department will be allocated to me,” he said.

He said having a significant department was important as people expect a lot from them and they can serve people only if they have a key department.

Meanwhile, Thorat is sulking as he has been given the responsibility of Kolhapur, even though he hails from Ahmednagar, while NCP’s heavyweight leader in Kolhapur Hasan Mushrif has been made the guardian minister of Ahmednagar. Both the Congress and NCP have claimed it to be the mutual understanding between them on the basis of the seats won in the districts.

Thorat said he already has too many responsibilities. “I have not refused the guardian ministership out of discontent, but because of other responsibilities. MoS Vishwajeet Kadam has not been given the responsibility of any district. I have demanded Kadam be made the guardian minister of Kolhapur,” the revenue minister said. He is the legislative party leader and member of the Congress Working Committee. He is expected to request Thackeray to make changes.