Ready to walk extra mile to coordinate with UPA allies: Cong

New Delhi, March 9: Amidst talk of mid-term Lok Sabha poll following Congress' poor show in Assembly elections, Congress today sought to reach out to allies by expressing readiness to walk the extra mile to strenghten coordination with them.

Ahead of the budget session of Parliament beginning next week, party spokesman Manish Tewari declared "if at all there is a need to further energise that communication (with the allies), Congress is always ready to walk the extra mile."

His remarks at the AICC briefing came close on the heels of Railway Minister and senior Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi speaking about mid-term polls and dubbing the union goverment as lame duck in the wake of the polls.

After his remarks caused a flutter in political circles, Dwivedi undertook a damage control exercise. Tewari's remarks came in response was to a question whether Congress felt the need for a UPA coordination committee for better relations with allies in the wake of the poll results.

He noted all UPA allies are represented in the union cabinet and that there is already regular interaction with them. He said government was stable and will complete its full term.

"Budget cannot and should not be held hostage to political expediencey., Budget and other attendent legislations are extremely critical for growth and progress of the nation. "Where the question of larger national interest arises, there is a need to rise above political and partisan things", he said.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi had spoken in a similar vein just after the assembly poll verdict expressing the hope that allies and the opposition will support the people- oriented measures and government will regularly interact with allies.

PTI