NCP says it will fight polls alone

The Congress-Nationalist Congress Party coalition in Maharashtra is heading for trouble.

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP on Sunday said it would not issue any clarification on the issue of Congress president Sonia Gandhi's foreign issue.

"... if Congress feels that they should not stay in government, they have a right to that decision. Every party has a right to make these decisions," NCP spokesman Praful Patel said.

Patel's reaction came a day after Maharashtra PCC president Ranjit Deshmukh issued an "ultimatum" giving Pawar a week to either "reconsider" his stand on the foreign origin issue or face "dire consequences".

On Friday, Pawar, at a rally in New Delhi, had ridiculed the Congress over its "imported" leadership.

Patel ruled out any apology from Pawar saying, "Apology for what?"

He said since the Congress had issued the ultimatum, it was for it to decide what action to take.

Patel, an associate of Pawar, said in Mumbai that the NCP "will fight separately in the forthcoming assembly elections".

"We are a coalition partner of Congress in Maharashtra. But in other parts of the country, we are fighting against both BJP and Congress," Patel said.

Asked about the deadline and whether the development would plunge the Maharashtra government in crisis, the NCP leader said the Congress should be asked that question.

"Our party has not changed its stance over the foreign issue," he emphasised.

NCP general secretary Tariq Anwar said, "This issue is not new and on this very issue we were expelled from Congress four years ago and NCP came into existence."