Mumbai Blasts: Take Home, give CM post: NCP asks Congress

Mumbai, Jul 16: While the investigative agencies are still clueless about the hands behind 2011 Mumbai serial blasts, state ruling parties, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), are busy in blame games.

Following Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's controversial comments over NCP Home Minister RR Patil, NCP retorted back saying that the party is willing to swap the portfolios. A top NCP leader said that if Congress allows them to take Chief Minister post, the party is ready to give Home and finance in return.

"We are ready to swap, provided the Congress is willing to part with the chief minister"s post inclusive of ministry of urban development and housing. In the bargain we are willing to hand over home, finance and planning," the NCP leader said.

Earlier, commenting on NCP's Home portfolio, Prithiviraj Chavan said that it was a mistake not to keep the home, finance and planning portfolios with the CM.

"I think it was a mistake. We should have re-looked at it. I don"t know of any other coalition government where the portfolios of home, finance and planning are not with the chief minister," Chavan told TV channels.

"This was a division agreed to by us in 1999 when Congress-NCP first came to power in the state. That pattern was based on the model adopted by the Shiv Sena-BJP government during 1995-99."

But, when NCP leaders raised voice against Congress and CM, Chavan defended himself by saying that things are being misquoted everywhere. He also added that Home Minister RR Patil has handled the situation very efficiently.

"I am confident of my Home Minister R.R Patil and things are being misquoted everywhere. I had told earlier in reference with the historic incidents. Our Home Minister has handled the situation very efficiently," Chavan said.

OneIndia News