Trouble between Sena, NCP: Pawar meets CM

MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar visited chief minister Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree, the Thackeray family residence in Bandra, on Monday to mediate on certain issues, a day after friction between two of Maharashtra’s ruling allies, Shiv Sena and NCP, increased over the transfer of IPS officers in Mumbai and poaching of the former party’s corporators by the latter.

Sena insiders said CM Thackeray

was upset over both issues and said that it sends a “wrong message” about the coalition government, which also comprises the Congress.

The CM has already expressed displeasure over the transfers of 10 IPS officers in Mumbai. The officers were transferred by police commissioner Parambir Singh. Though Singh has powers to transfer his subordinates, the norm of consulting the CM was not followed, according to Sena insiders. The home department is with NCP and Singh had kept home minister Anil Deshmukh in the loop. Thackeray is also unhappy with the poaching of five corporators from Parner Nagar Panchayat in Ahmednagar by the NCP in presence of deputy CM and NCP leader Ajit Pawar. According to Sena insiders, Milind Narvekar, a close aide of the Sena chief, spoke to Ajit Pawar with a message from the CM to get the five corporators back into the Sena fold. This was the second meeting since Friday between Pawar and Thackeray when they had met to discuss lack of coordination among the ruling allies.

NIA SAYS