Cong, NCP ministers resort to mud-slinging at rallies

As the poll date nears, senior cabinet ministers of the Democratic Front government are resorting to mud-slinging during public rallies.

As the poll date nears, senior cabinet ministers of the Democratic Front government are resorting to mud-slinging during public rallies.

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A case in point could be senior Congress minister Narayan Rane. Expressing his displeasure with the expansionist policy of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in his home turf Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Konkan, Rane called deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar ‘a goon’ and home minister RR Patil ‘ineffectual’ on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Pawar and Patil both took on Rane, saying that his remarks were stemming from frustration. Speaking to the media at Ahmednagar, Pawar said, “He [Rane] has lost his mental balance and generally starts ranting if something goes against his wishes. I don’t take him too seriously.”

He added that Rane had even lambasted his own party high command when he was not chosen as the chief minister.

Patil said that Rane was red-faced at the loss of support in his home-turf which was increasingly going in favour of NCP. In Konkan, NCP and Congress are pitted against each other and all political parties have joined hands to corner Rane. Rane also suffered a setback in the recent municipal council elections where NCP got the lead in all three councils in his hometown.