The Congress and the NCP on Wednesday managed to resolve the ongoing standoff, with an agreement on setting up coordination committees at the Centre and in Mumbai.
The resolution came ahead of NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at 7, RCR later this evening.
A formal announcement to this effect will be made after that meeting.
Earlier in the day, the NCP had clarified that it had not served any ultimatum to the Congress.
Prime Minister Singh too had said that talks were on with NCP, while Sonia Gandhi declined to comment on the issue.
Patel said his party has not issued any ultimatum to the Congress.
Speaking to a news channel, Patel said all issues can be resolved through dialogue.
The PM said “We are discussing the issue with NCP.”
When asked about the possibility of forming a Coordination Committee for better functioning of the government, PM Singh said, “In politics, there is give and take. We are ready to talk on any issue that concerns them (NCP)”.
Declining her comment on the Congress-NCP standoff, Sonia Gandhi told reporters, “I am not going to answer any of your questions.”
Pawar and Patel had not been attending office and Cabinet meetings for the past few days, miffed over the fact that the NCP chief was not accorded the No 2 status in Cabinet after the exit of Pranab Mukherjee, who moved to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The NCP was also not happy with coordination with the Congress at the Centre, as well as in Maharashtra where Ashok Chavan is leading a coalition government.
