Thorat says loyalty to Congress never wavered

Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat on Sunday said there was no need to pay heed to BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's comments that he contemplated joining the saffron party a few years back.

Vikhe Patil himself quit the Congress before the Assembly elections in the state this year and joined the BJP.

Both he and Thorat hail from Ahmednagar district, and are known to be bitter rivals.

Reacting to the BJP leader's claim, Thorat, who is a minister in the current Maharashtra government, said, "I never compromised on my principles and commitment towards the Congress. There is no need to give any importance to his comments."
Talking to reporters in Shirdi on Saturday, Vikhe Patil said, "Thorat was thinking of joining the BJP some three years ago. What he has got today (a Cabinet post) is by accident. He could not campaign outside his constituency during the Assembly polls."