Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday refuted reports about him having a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week, during which a proposal to induct him into the Union cabinet was discussed.
Reacting to media reports that the Prime Minister is keen to bring Mr Chavan back to the Central cabinet and that the proposal is in active consideration before the Congress high command, the chief minister said, “I did not have any meeting with Prime Minister Singh during my visit to Delhi last week.”
Mr Chavan said that he met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who reviewed Maharashtra-related matters in the presence of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Manikrao Thakre. When asked if the Congress vice-president was happy with the state’s performance, Mr Chavan only smiled and did not reply to the question.
A report regarding the change of leadership in the state appeared in a section of the media stating that Mr Chavan would soon be called back to the Centre, as two Union ministers Pawan Kumar Bansal and Ashwani Kumar are in deep trouble, due to separate controversies.
On the issue of the controversial Local Body Tax (LBT), which has stirred a strong agitation by traders in the state, the chief minister said, “The Supreme Court had rejected a plea against the tax.”
He also appealed to the trading community to call off their strike on the issue.
Mr Chavan clarified that LBT had not come into effect in Mumbai yet, as it would require a legislative sanction. “We have kept our doors open for discussion to simplify the tax procedure and traders should not hold the common man to ransom,” he said. The chief minister also denied that he was being alienated by the alliance partner NCP on the issue of LBT.