Murmurs within Congress following civic reverses

Mumbai, Feb 6 (UNI) Following the reverses suffered in the recent civic elections, there is a growing feeling within the Congress that the party should demand the Home portfolio from its coalition partner, the NCP.

There is a feeling within the Congress that the Home Department, currently headed by Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil who is an NCP leader, did not properly handle the situation arising out of the recent Bhiwandi violence.

The NCP, by its actions in Bhiwandi, caused the ''Dalits'' and ''Muslims'', who have traditionally voted for the Congress, to move away from the party. Although the Samajwadi Party has no base in Mumbai or elsewhere in Maharashtra, yet the Muslims voted in their favour to express anger against the Congress, according to Congress sources.

The Muslims have been further alienated since the Maulana Azad Finance Corporation, set up to provide financial assistance to Muslim youth for self employment, has not been functioning effectively, say the sources.

The delay in taking action against the perpetrators of the Khairlanji massacre, and police high-handedness in dealing with Mumbai and Malegaon blast suspects, also harmed the party's prospects, the sources admitted. The Muslim were further alienated since policemen, indicted by the Srikrishna Commission which investigated the communal riots in Mumbai in 1992-93, were promoted.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) spokesman Hussain Dalwai, when contacted by UNI, refused to acknowledge that the party had fared badly. ''Barring Nagpur and Pune, the party has done well and has gained in strength in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Akola and Solapur,'' he said.

He informed that the state leaders were currently in Delhi to analyse the party's performance with the Central leadership.

Mr Dalwai said a pre-poll alliance with the NCP could have made a difference. But the NCP is alone to be blamed for the failure of talks, he alleged.

''MPCC chief Prabha Rau and Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh tried hard for an alliance with the NCP in Mumbai, Thane and Nashik, where the Shiv Sena-BJP combine was in power, but their efforts did not materialise,'' he added.

UNI