Prominent among those absent at the meeting were Sachin Aher, Vijay Kamble and Bhagwan Bhigardive - all of whom have openly supported Pawar and his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Aher and Kamble were present at the massive NCP rally on June 10 at Shivaji Park. It is learned that they did not even inform the INTUC leadership of their absence or reasons for their nonappearance unlike ten others who notified their absence stating personal reasons. The meeting was held at Tilak Bhavan, Congress headquarters, instead of the usual RMMS office venue.

However, it would notbe possible to take disciplinary action against Kamble and Aher since they have not yet declared their stand nor have they taken a support-count in the RMMS, said INTUC office-bearers. The RMMS may be "thrown out" of the INTUC if necessary, said Govondrao Adik. Aher and Kamble carried out a tirade against INTUC president Adik since earlier this year when Adik, formerly a Pawar confidant, changed tracks and declared his loyalty to the Congress chief. He organised Sonia's first labour rally at Srirampur in Ahmednagar district in January this year; Pawar stayed away from it.

Though disciplinary action cannot be initiated against Aher, Kamble, Bhingardive and others in their group at an individual level, the INTUC can decide to disassociate or derecognise RMMS as its affiliate. But this would mean a setback for the Congress in the labour sector, particularly in the textile mills where RMMS is a recognised union. Also, the full strength of the RMMS may not choose to go along with Aher and Kamble.

Adikinitially made light of the issue saying "there may be individual difference of opinion but the INTUC and the RMMS are one on key issues like workers' interest". Forced to comment on Aher-Kamble-Bhingardive's absence at the working committee meeting, he said that no disciplinary action can be initiated against them until they come clean about their political leanings. "They say they are with us, then they go there and declare support there. So they have to be clear. Then we will do what we have to do," he said.

Wednesday's meeting endorsed the resolution supporting Sonia and decided to implement it in Maharashtra. The resolution also states that the 13-month BJP rule at the Centre has only witnessed an increase in unemployment, deteriorating condition of industrial sickness leading to many closures and further unemployment, and grave conditions of agriculturists and agricultural labourers.

Adopted in Jallandhar at the working committee of the central INTUC, the resolution is more political in nature withmore than half of it devoted to the Sonia-Pawar face-off. It "fully endorses the decision of the AICC to expel those hostile and undisciplined members of the Congress Working Committee to whom self-interests are more dear than the nation....The working committee states that Smt Sonia Gandhi and her children are citizens of India...(she) is more Indian than any of her critics."

Kargil fund

The Maharashtra INTUC decided on Wednesday that a minimum of one-day salary of all its five lakh worker-members in the State will be donated to the national fund for soldiers wounded in Kargil.