MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Monday had the mortification of coming under attack from his senior party colleague Narayan Rane over his alleged lack of leadership credentials. And Rane’s no-holds-barred attack on Chavan came after he had put in his papers.
“The Congress is not willing to learn from its mistakes in the Lok Sabha elections. We failed to keep the people informed about our good work. We did not handle the campaign well. If things continue like this, there is a possibility that we will lose the Assembly elections too. I don’t want to be part of the losing side,” he said.
In his resignation letter, Rane listed four decisions, which had been pending before the state Cabinet for the last three years, as the reason for his unhappiness. However, he later conceded that those were not the real reasons.
“When I joined the Congress nine years ago I was promised that I will be made CM within six months. The Congress high command did not keep its word. There is no decision-making process in the party, no implementation of decisions, no coordination between the party and the government. The government has failed to curb corruption,” he said.
He referred to Chavan’s risk-averse style of functioning as one of the possible reasons for the LS rout. “A CM does not get enough time to study each and every subject. There is a bureaucracy to take care of it. Public opinion will go against us if we move with the same speed,” Rane said.
He refused to concur with the view that the high command was shielding Chavan because he had succeeded in cutting the NCP to size.
“I don’t think he had managed to keep the NCP under check. A coalition government is run on the basis of understanding. It’s not important if the understanding is for public interest or self,” he said sarcastically.