Mumbai, July 05: Differences in the Congress over relations with NCP came to the fore today with Rajya Sabha MP Murli Deora exhorting partymen to avoid confrontation with the Sharad Pawar-led outfit even as the party's city unit chief Gurudas Kamat dared the alliance partner to pull out of the ruling DF coalition. "We are of the view that Congress-NCP alliance, formed to keep communal forces away from power, should continue but if somebody is threatening to pull out of the government what can we do,” Kamat asked while addressing a party meeting here.
"If NCP is threatening to withdraw from the ruling front and giving a 15-day deadline for Congress to mend its way, then we are not going to succumb to it, Kamat said adding "we will not tolerate attack on our party leadership".
Kamat's statement came after Deora asked partymen to exercise restraint and not indulge in confrontation with the NCP.
Kamat said "the alliance with persons who deserted the party and betrayed us on the issue of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin is only to keep the communal SS-BJP away from acquiring power."
The MRCC chief said the Congress so far had maintained patience on the attack made on their leader, but it will not be so henceforth.
The NCP spokesperson Praful Patel had given us 15 days time to "mend our ways", Kamat said and openly challenged NCP to go ahead and break the alliance.
Bureau Report