Congress softens,says differences not irreconcilable

“To try to act like ‘Narad muni’ to provoke and to create a provocative atmosphere is not right. We are allies. There is nothing which cannot be sorted out through talks. Sometimes it is time consuming,” Singhvi said.

A senior party leader,who declined to be identified,however,said that the party was awaiting the outcome in the five states which could increase its manoeuvrability inside the as also in the Rajya Sabha. The ruling alliance is in a minority in the Upper House.

“We are not perverse or unreasonable with (Trinamool chief) Mamata (Banerjee) on any issue,be it the sharing of Teesta waters,the FDI in retail or the Lokpal bill,” he said,adding that “no ally could have a veto”.

In Purulia,Congress leader and minister in Mamata’s cabinet,Manas Bhuniya also talked of rapprochement. “The chiefs of both Congress and Trinamool Congress (Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee) should sit together and discuss the matter,” he said and added: “Open criticism of each other would harm both (the parties)”. Bhuniya himself had a couple of days ago attacked Trinamool for the state government’s decision to rename Indira Bhavan after poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.

State minister for urban development and Trinamool leader,Firhad Hakim criticised the Congress saying the party was vitiating the atmosphere in the state. “After 34 years of Left Front misrule the state was ushered in good governance and the chief minister was trying to bring in development here. But what the Congress is doing is an attempt to spoil the opportunities. We are committed to the coalition. But the Congress must abide by alliance dharma. They must remember that here we are not dependent on them but in Delhi their survival hinges on our support. We are telling them to stop all these road blockades and agitations so that together we can work for development,” he said.