Maharashtra ministry likely to be formed by tomorrow: Patel

Nagpur, Nov 4 : Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation and senior NCP leader Praful Patel today said the Democratic Front (DF) government in Maharashtra was likely to be formed by tomorrow.

''I hope that the process of the formation of the new government will be completed by tomorrow. Congress and NCP are partners, and the people of Maharashtra have voted for our alliance. It is, therefore, our responsibility to form the government as soon as possible,'' Mr Patel told reporters here this evening.

Asked if the swearing-in ceremony would be held tomorrow, Mr Patel said: ''It is quite likely.'' The ministry was being formed after lengthy discussions because the DF wanted to give a stable and people-oriented government for the next five years, Mr Patel said. ''It is better to discuss everything in detail beforehand, so that there are no problems later on,'' he said, while denying that there was any lack of coordination and understanding between the two allies.

Mr Patel said it was not unusual that the government formation was taking time. ''In 1999, it took two weeks for the government to be formed. In 2004, it took 12 days,'' he pointed out.

While several rounds of talks had been held between the leaders of the two parties, a meeting was scheduled to be held in New Delhi tonight, and the impasse was likely to end then, the NCP leader said.

Asked to comment on reports that the BJP had been in touch with NCP leader Ajit Pawar, Mr Patel said there was no truth in them.

The formation of the new government after the assembly polls in Maharashtra had been delayed because of an impasse over the sharing of plum departments between the NCP and the Congress.

Earlier, Mr Patel formally launched the operations of Deccan 360, fully integrated multi-modal domestic logistics service, founded by Capt C R Gopinath, who was behind the country's first low-cost airline Air Deccan.

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
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