Picchad For Judicial Probe Into Akola Clash

Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Madhukarrao Picchad issued a press release criticising the violence reported between Congress and NCP activists in Akola district on Monday where counting of votes of some co-operative sugar factories was being conducted.

Without directly blaming chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Picchad demanded a judicial probe into the incident in order to book the guilty for the same.

In a veiled reference aimed at the Congress, the release noted that vested interests were attempting to tarnish the image of the NCP and wrest control of the sugar cooperatives.

Later in the evening, Picchad said he was firmly with his party leader Sharad Pawar adding that,: "I have conveyed to him my feelings on the issue during our meeting held on Tuesday."

He also dismissed reports of his having threatened to withdraw from the government along with five other NCP MLAs. However Picchad is to hold a meeting with the seniormost cabinet minister in Maharashtra and the public works department minister Vijaysinh Mohite Patil on Wednesday where the issue would be sorted out.

Meanwhile, the hearings being conducted by speaker of the state legislature Arun Gujarati who had issued disqualification notices to eight MLAs who withdrew from the DF government continued behind closed doors till late on Tuesday evening and was expected to continue late into the night.