Congress president Sonia Gandhi'sletter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray where she mentioned the Common Minimum Program (CMP) may have been prompted by complaints about budget cuts by her party's ministers, the NCP said on Saturday.
The NCP is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state along with Thackeray's Shiv Sena and the Congress.
"Some Congress leaders may have complained to Sonia Gandhi," said Nawab Malik, a state minister and NCP spokesperson, speaking to a news channel.
The MVA alliance is committed to the CMP but there have been cuts in budgetary allocations for some development works due to the coronavirus pandemic, he said.
Senior Congress ministers Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan are part of the coordination committee of the MVA and aware of the situation, he said.
As per the report by Hindustan Times, Malik also said that the letter could be an outcome of lack of communication within the Congress given that the tribal development department is headed by a Congress minister.
"Internal bickering in Congress is not new. The issues regarding CMP could have been brought up before the coordination committee by the two ministers," Malik added.
The third ally Shiv Sena, however, has welcomed the step by Gandhi. Speaking to ANI, on Saturday, about the same, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut stated, "If the Congress party has brought forward an agenda which is in the interest of people of Maharashtra and the state, then, it should be welcomed. There is no pressure politics."
In her letter dated December 14, Gandhi sought the implementation of certain measures for Dalits and tribals such as reservation in government contracts for SC/ST professionals.
She also expected that the government will fulfil the CMP in its true spirit in her first such letter to Thackeray since the coalition government was formed last year.
(With inputs from agencies)
