I won’t be a Deshmukh puppet: new MPCC chief

Mumbai, August 29: In his first interview since taking over as Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President, Manikrao Thakre debunked the perception in political circles that he was a close ally of Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh and asserted that he would not be a puppet of the state government.

He promised tough decisions to unite the rank and file of the party to face elections from a position of strength and told The Indian Express that while the Chief Minister had control over the Cabinet, “the party has the right to advise the Government on matters of party policy and implementation of promises made to the people”.

He said that the aim was not to deliberately raise contentious issues, “but if we find that there is something wrong, we’ll pull up the government”. He added that the Congress had strong roots among the masses and it was the duty of the party to ensure the welfare of the common man. “If there is a mistake, the party will intervene and take action. I have already sent a signal to some ministers who don’t listen to party workers, wait and see the results,” he said. “Some appointments like Special Executive Officers (SEOs) and the ones to state-run corporations have been pending for a long time. I have asked for detailed information and will soon take up the issue with the Chief Minister.”

Thakre embellished his assertion of independence by referring to dissident Revenue Minister Narayan Rane as a senior leader whose presence would benefit the party in the polls. “My policy is to take everyone with me and steer the party to victory,” he said, pointing out that he made repeated personal requests to Rane to ensure his presence at the August 21 function where he took over as MPCC chief. “I won’t isolate anyone,” Thakre said.

He said that he would strengthen the party as well as work in tandem with the government by having regular meetings of the coordination committee which, incidentally, has met only thrice in the last four years.

Thakre, who hails from Vidarbha, blamed officials for lapses in the implementation of the Prime Minister’s and the state government’s package for distressed farmers. “The irregularities are in schemes involving individual farmers,” he said. “And it is because officials committed mistakes. I have written to the Chief Minister two days ago to set up a committee of local elected representatives to monitor the implementation of the packages.”

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