Vilasrao gets reprieve from Sonia

NEW DELHI: Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh seems to have weathered the political storm over the tardy progress in the implementation of the recommendations of Srikrishna Commission, with the leadership giving him the go-ahead for a rejig of his ministerial team as well as the long-pending appointments of boards and corporations. The green light was flashed following the meeting Deshmukh had with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi here on Saturday.

Though long overdue, the nod for the twin exercises should reassure the chief minister and his followers because of the speculation in certain quarters about Deshmukh having fallen out of the leadership’s favour because of the unsatisfactory progress over the implementation of the Srikrishna panel’s recommendations about action against the guilty in the Mumbai riots.

The speculation about an impending change had intensified after the chief minister was asked to come to New Delhi. Conversely, the new lease of life for the chief minister should disappoint the dissident camp in Maharashtra Congress, which was salivating at the prospect of a leadership change.

The Srikrishna commission report did feature in the CM’s discussion with both Sonia Gandhi and Union home minister Shivraj Patil which took place in the wake of reports about Congress general secretary Margaret Alva submitting a status report. Alva refused to confirm the report.