Our Political Bureau

Mumbai, June 11: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) headed by Mr Sharad Power, on Monday clarified that it will not pull out of the Democratic Front (DF) government in Maharashtra over the Dabhol impasse, nor will it oppose setting up of a judicial commission to probe the Dabhol project if the state government decides to do so.

NCP spokesman Praful Patel, speaking on behalf of the party president Sharad Pawar who is in Geneva, told reporters that media reports suggesting such a possibility were “out of context.”

Mr Patel said Mr Pawar had sought to convey through his recent media statements that the Dabhol issue needed to be sorted out as early as possible as the delay could put a heavy financial burden on the state government.

NCP, which is a major coalition partner in the DF government, would stand by the collective decision of the Cabinet on the issue and even agree for setting up of a judicial probe to fix up responsibility for signing the power purchase agreement with Dabhol Power Company if the state government so decided, Mr Patel said.

Mr Patel made it clear that it was wrong to suggest that Mr Pawar was advocating the cause of US multinational Enron and trying to pressurise the state government in favour of Enron. Mr Patel said that his party wanted Enron to reduce power tariff for the first phase. According to him, the party was of the opinion that Dabhol phase-II should be scrapped as Maharashtra did not require it.

Mr Patel’s clarification deserves a special significance, especially when the left parties in the DF have been insisting upon the judicial probe. Further, the Congress party, which wants to settle score againt Mr Pawar, is not leaving any opportunity to take on the former chief minister on the Dabhol issue.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has made it clear that no politics are involved in the Enron issue and said that the state has reaffirmed full confidence in former bureaucrat Dr Madhav Godbole who is heading the renegotiation committee for the Dabhol project.

He added that the state, which was until recently drawing around 300 mw power from DPC, does not require Dabhol phase-II which should be taken over by the Centre.