Pawar, Praful Patel Offer to Quit, Won't Attend Offices Today

New Delhi: The NCP on Friday sought to push the Congress leadership into a corner with its two senior leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel believed to have resigned from the Union cabinet aggrieved over a variety of issues including no 2 slot for Pawar and Congress' treatment of its allies.

According to TV reports, the duo have sent their resignations to the Prime Minister and will not be attending their offices on Friday.

Earlier on Thursday, asked about reports that the Prime Minister had called him in a bid to mollify him, Pawar said "no comments".

Similar was his response to questions on whether the two leaders had sent their resignation letters to the Prime Minister.

Sources in the party said the resignation offers have been made to make the Congress go into the issue and talk to allies on their concerns. Congress cannot take the allies for granted, the sources said.

The NCP leaders are expected to meet again on Friday on the issue.

The agriculture minister who sat in the No.2 seat in the first Cabinet meeting after Mukherjee's resignation but in the next meeting the seat was taken by defence minister and senior Congress leader AK Antony.

This was interpreted as Congress' way of sending a message that Antony was the virtual No.2 in the government.

To add to NCP's anger, Pawar's name had appeared in the No.2 position in the list of Cabinet ministers on the Prime Minister's website but the list itself was removed from the official websites of the PMO and Cabinet Secretariat.

Pawar, a senior leader, had been a Maharashtra chief minister thrice, was defence minister in the PV Narasimha Rao cabinet and was once even considered in the race for Prime Ministership.

NCP is also said to be miffed over Congress' attitude of not consulting them on issues in UPA.

The party is also apparently unhappy that Pawar has not been made a member of the high-powered CCS which includes only Congress representatives and was worried that it may passed over on the choice of the Leader of the House that will arise when Lok Sabha meets for its monsoon session next month.