Disgruntled Cong MLAs up ante against Chavan

Already under flak from the Nationalist Congress Party, growing discontent among his party’s legislators has added to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan's troubles.

Already under flak from the Nationalist Congress Party, growing discontent among his party’s legislators has added to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan's troubles.

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A section of Congress legislators who are unhappy with Chavan have upped the ante against him citing displeasure over the functioning of the government, and have demanded speedy work in their constituencies.

These legislators are the ones who were vocal against Chavan during a meeting of the state Congress on July 9.

A letter signed by 43 legislators was in circulation in Vidhan Bhavan on Tuesday, but state Congress president Manikrao Thakre insisted that he had not seen or received one. The letter states that the legislators are finding it difficult to function as citizens are unhappy with the government because their problems are not being solved.

The letter lists 14 steps the government needs to take urgently and appeals to the state president to convene a meeting with Chavan for the purpose. It also claims that the signatories have support of a majority of the party MLAs. The letter, however, does not demand removal of Chavan.

Even so, the Congress did not see any trouble brewing for Chavan and stated that the complaints against him do not amount mutiny and such grievances are a healthy sign of democracy in the party. Thakre said the legislators had some complaints regarding their constituencies. "This was discussed in the Congress legislative party meeting [on July 9] and the CM has promised to act swiftly on their demands."

The legislators are mostly supporters of former chief minister Ashok Chavan.

Vijay Wadettiwar, one of the MLAs who signed the letter, said the legislators have not sought Chavan’s removal. ''What we have demanded is a solution to the problems in our regions. We put forth our demand in the meeting and also wrote a letter thereafter.''

Prominent among the disgruntled MLAs are Mumbai legislators Aslam Sheikh, Ashok Jadhav, Baldev Khosa, along with Congress MLAs from other regions including Kailas Gorantyal, Subhash Zanak, Ramesh Bagwe, Ramprasad Bordikar, Abdul Sattar, Vijay Wadettiwar and Sunil Kedar.