The differences between Shiv Sena and its ruling ally the Congress have once again come to the fore. Party Member of the Parliament (MP) Rajiv Satav and state Youth Congress chief Satyajeet Tambe have reminded Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray of the coalition dharma, saying that he is heading a three-party alliance government in which the Congress party is a key ally.
The trigger was an advertisement released recently jointly by the state government and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) for the launch of the Maha Jobs portal to facilitate employment for the sons of soil. The full page advertisement, which appeared in key papers, had photos of Thackeray, his deputy and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) veteran Ajit Pawar, Industry Minister and Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai, Labour Minister and NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil, Skill Development Minister Nawab Malik (NCP) and the Minister of State for Industry Aditi Tatkare (NCP), but state Congress chief and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat’s photo was missing.
Satav, in his tweet, said, “Maha Jobs portal is a good initiative. The party has full support. However, while approaching people, due care be taken as it is an alliance government. Hope the mistake will not be repeated while releasing the new advertisement.’’
Tambe, in his tweet, questioned whether the Maha Jobs portal is of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government or of Shiv Sena-NCP. “Why has there not been the implementation of a protocol fixed in the common minimum programme at the time of formation of Maha Vikas Aghadi? This is my simple question as a Congress activist,” he said.
However, Thorat said the Industry Ministry has admitted that there was a mistake and assured it will not be repeated in the future.
It must be mentioned here that the Congress was sulking over the lack of adequate representation in decision-making and government functioning compared to Shiv Sena and NCP. Thorat and Public Works Minister Ashok Chavan had recently met Thackeray and urged him to further strengthen the coordination among the three parties. They insisted that Congress should get its due share in day to day government functioning. Thereafter, Thorat and Chavan said that Thackeray had assured to meet them quite often and actively involve them in decision-making.
