The issue this time round is Rane's refusal to let the State Government stand guarantee to the Rs 400 cr bonds for development schemes of Jalgaon Municipal Council which was once headed by Jain. Jain had submitted two proposals for government guarantee and when Rane declined to oblige Jain at the weekly cabinet meeting, he walked out.

After the meeting, when Rane was closeted with Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde and Irrigation Minister Eknath Khadse, Jain barged into his chamber, saying, he would not tolerateindifferent attitude. ``I am not bothered about my post,'' an agitated Jain told the Chief Minister.

A shocked and surprised Rane retorted ``I think you know you are talking to the Chief Minister. At least on five occasions, you have threatened to quit from the cabinet. It is your decision.''

Of course, Rane is not the first politician to be humiliated by Jain. Last year, Jain had blasted BJP President Suryabhan Wahadane as well as senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiyya following row over construction of houses for the slumdwellers in the metropolis. Subsequently, he was at logger heads with then Chief Minister Manohar Joshi over posting of top bureaucrats in his departments.

Though Jain, who is away on a foreign tour, was not available for comment, a senior minister confirmed the spat over the Rs 400 cr bonds.

The contention of the finance department in denying the state guarantee was that the government should not take the risk unless the proposal was declared viable by agencies like Crisil. ``We proposedthat if Crisil or any other similar agency approves the proposal, only then should the government stand guarantee,'' an official of the finance department said.

The official said the Jalgaon Municipal Council has already secured a loan of Rs 200 crore for completing on-going projects and the government was not aware of the financial status of JMC. ``As per the existing rules, government can take guarantee of only state-run enterprises. We have stood guarantee for the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and also the state-run Jeevan Pradhikaran, since the risk factor there was lowest. So far, government has not stood guarantee for any of the municipal councils in the state,'' the official added.

The official said if the local body failed to make the repayment, it would be the responsibility of the government to repay the loan along with the interest. ``We felt that a precedence should not be established and therefore briefed the Chief Minister accordingly,'' the official added.