MoS Gurudas Kamat's party to honour Prithviraj Chavan was a dud as city MPs and ministers gave it a miss; sources blame it on factionalism within Mumbai Congress
MoS Gurudas Kamat's party to honour Prithviraj Chavan was a dud as city MPs and ministers gave it a miss; sources blame it on factionalism within Mumbai Congress
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The opulent dinner party at Parsi Gymkhana in Marine Lines yesterday saw a lot of food go waste. There was nothing wrong with the lavish spread.
But, by design or by chance, most of the invitees high-profile Congress Ministers and MPs representing the city failed to turn up.
Advocate Majeed Memon, Yusuf Lakdawala, Gurudas Kamath and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan share a light moment at Parsi Gymkhana. Chavan digs into some chaat at the venue
The dinner, hosted by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Communications and IT, Gurudas Kamat, was meant to honour the new Chief Minister.
And, the flop show that it turned out to beu00a0 is a clear sign of a splintered Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC), say sources in the party.
For some reason or the other, the ministers and MPs from the city, reportedly part of the anti-Kamat camp, collectively shunned the dinner. The factionalism within the MRCC was out there for all to see.
The only exceptions were South Mumbai MP Milind Deora and State Health Minister Suresh Shetty. While the former attended the dinner despite differences, the latter is said to be close to the Union Minister.
MRCC President Kripashankar Singh and MPs Sanjay Nirupam, Priya Dutt and Eknath Gaikwad did not show up.
Ministers who represent Mumbai in the state cabinet, such as Arif Naseem Khan and Varsha Gaikwad, were not present as well.
Priya Dutt said, "I was out of town to attend a wedding. This has nothing to do with factionalism. I do not believe in factions.
Minister for Minority Affairs Arif Naseem Khan had a similar excuse. "I am out of town and that is why I did not attend the dinner," he said.
Though the do was well-publicised and announced well in advance, with a number of journalists on the guest list, the above-mentioned leaders preferred to send a message though their nonattendance.
Despite several attempts, MRCC president Kripashankar Singh, MP Sanjay Nirupam and Minister for Women and Child Welfare Varsha Gaikwad were not available for comment.u00a0
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