NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday took a swipe at the Maharashtra government, saying it seems to him like a "three-legged animal" which is running a 100-metre race.
Chidambaram's dig came days after NCP chief Sharad Pawar faced a revolt by his nephew Ajit Pawar who along with eight other leaders joined the Eknath Shinde-led government.
In a tweet, Chidambaram said, "The CM and the two Deputy CMs of Maharashtra claim that their government is a triple-engine government. It seems to me like a three-legged animal which is running a 100 metre race."
"Nine new ministers in Maharashtra do not have any work because portfolios have not been allotted to them," he said.
"None of the other 20 ministers, including Mr (Devendra) Fadnavis, wants to give up any portfolio. There is a solution: declare that the nine new ministers will be ministers without portfolio," Chidambaram said. The nine new entrants joined the government in order to be ministers, he alleged.
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"Who said they wanted to be ministers with portfolios," Chidambaram asked.
In a surprising move, Ajit Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister, while eight legislators of his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) took oath as ministers in the government led by the Shiv Sena and the BJP earlier in the day.
Following Ajit Pawar's revolt, Shiv Sena's Shinde had said, "Now the double engine government has a triple engine. The state will sprint (on the path of development). Now we have one CM and two deputy chief ministers. This will help faster development of the state."
The Congress is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance consisting of itself, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and the NCP.