Chavan downplays "written undertaking" remark, says all well

A day after his"written undertaking from the Shiv Sena" remark created a flutter in Maharashtra's political circles, minister and Congress leader Ashok Chavan on Tuesday said media reports in this regard do not convey the fact and that he didn't speak against anyone.

Chavan said his remark was related to the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) worked out by the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress, constituents of the ruling coalition, and emphasised that their "government's is doing well".

"I had talked about the CMP. The three parties had come together to prepare it. It is a written document. I had spoken in that context," Chavan asserted.

"But the media reports do not convey the fact. I did not speak against anyone. The government is doing well. 'Ham saath saath hai' (we are all together)," said the Congress leader, who holds the public works portfolio in the Sena-led government that completed two months in office on Tuesday.

Chavan had caused a furore, saying Congress president Sonia Gandhi had sought a "written undertaking" from the Sena that the new government in Maharashtra would work within the ambit of the Constitution.

The former chief minister had made the remarks on Sunday at a meeting in Nanded, his home district in the Marathwada region.

In November last year, the Sena broke its alliance with the BJP and joined hands with the Congress and the NCP, its ideological opponents, to form government under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray.

The three parties worked out a CMP to serve as the guiding principle for the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.