Sonia Gandhi to review performance of newly-appointed Congress Maharashtra ministers

Soon after the expansion of the Maharashtra cabinet which led to an alleged rift between the Congress and the Shiv Sena over the allotment of portfolios, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi called on the newly-appointed ministers and instructed them that their work would be reviewed regularly. The agenda of the meeting at 10 Janpath on Tuesday is reported to be the firm implementation of the Common Minimum Programme in the state. 

The ministers also met Rahul Gandhi before meeting the interim President of the party. Senior Congress leader of Maharashtra Vijay Wadettiwar after the meeting said, "High Command will be reviewing the work of all the ministers. It is important to review. The leaders who have been assigned the ministry should firmly implement the common minimum programme in the state of Maharashtra. There should not be any compromise with the ideology." 

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The Common Minimum Programme 

After doing away with their alliance with BJP, the Shiv Sena earlier formed an alliance with ideologically opposite-Congress and the NCP. The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance or the MVA had set up a Common Minimum Programme to ensure smooth functioning of the government in Maharashtra. 

According to the Common Minimum Program, the alliance of Sena-NCP-Congress begins with a preamble stating that the coalition is committed to uphold the "secular values" enshrined in the Constitution. Indicating an explicit shift in Shiv Sena's politics, since its inception. 

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It read, "The alliance partners commit to uphold the secular values enshrined in the Constitution. On the contentious issue of national importance as well as of state importance especially having repercussions/consequences on the secular fabric of the nation, the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress will take a joint view after holding consultations and arriving at a consensus."

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Maharashtra cabinet expansion

A month after allying with the BJP and becoming the deputy CM under Devendra Fadnavis for just 80 hours, NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Monday again took oath as the deputy CM, this time under the Maha Vikas Aghadi government headed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Uddhav's Son Aaditya Thackeray and former chief minister Ashok Chavan also took oath as Cabinet ministers. NCP leaders Nawab Malik, Dilip Walse Patil, Dhananjay Munde, and Congress’ Vijay Wadettiwar were also inducted into the Cabinet.

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(With ANI Inputs)