Patil’s remarks put NCP in a fix

Dec 30, 2011 - Umesh Mohite |

Age Correspondent

mumbai

The Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday went into a damage control mode after Maharashtra home minister R.R. Patil said that he supports Anna Hazare’s demand for the Jan Lokpal Bill. The party claimed that Mr Patil was misinterpreted by the media, and clarified that he was only speaking about security arrangements at the MMRDA ground.

Mr Patil, who was in Sangli before Mr Hazare started his fast, had spoken in favour of the anti-corruption crusader.
However, state NCP spokesperson Madan Bafana said that his party has always supported the Lokpal Bill moved by the UPA government. “Our party has always been against corruption and supported the Lokpal Bill brought in by the government in Parliament. The home minister had only said that due care would be taken for the security of the agitators, who would gather at the MMRDA ground. He had no reason to support any specific individual, or agitation,” he said.
It was widely reported that Mr Patil had expressed his support for Mr Hazare’s fast. This created a flutter in the NCP, as the party is the strongest member of the UPA and has always been against Mr Hazare’s movement.

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