Alva asks Pawar to return to Congress fold

Pune, Jan 22: All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Margaret Alva has asked Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar to return to the Congress fold.

Starting her party campaign for the Pune civic polls here in a rally yesterday, Ms Alva said there were no differences beween the Congress and the NCP.

Referring to Mr Pawar's recent interview with the BBC, where the NCP chief had said the Congress was being led ably by Sonia Gandhi and their parties were one family, Ms Alva said, ''writing on the wall is clear and when the mind and heart is in the Congress, why not return.'' She, however, criticised NCP leader R R Patil, saying he drove out the bar girls and believes that he will also remove the Cogress from the State.

Meanwhile, the Congress has announced entry of Alka Patil, sister-in-law of R R Patil, and 1,400 other NCP workers in the party fold.

Addressing the rally, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said the people of Pune should realise that the developmental work in the city was being done by the coalition partners.

''Give us a clear mandate and not put us on crutches again,'' he appealed to the voters.

He critisised the NCP, saying it was taking the credit for the developmental work being done by the Congress.

The Chief Minister said with games round the corner and more IT and auto companies waiting to come to Pune, it was necessary to develop the city in a way that it becomes one of the ten most preferred destinations in the world.

Earlier, City MP Suresh Kalmadi said the state government must ensure that the companies take 70 per cent of their work force from the city, the rest 30 per cent employement could be given to outsiders.

MPCC Chief Prabha Rao and other Congress leaders also addressed the rally.

UNI