Although Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee rejected the resignation letters given by the three ministers, tension persisted with the trio insisting on a firm assurance from the Centre that Thackeray would not be arrested for his alleged role in the 1993 communal riots in Maharashtra.

An embarrassed Vajpayee immediately summoned law minister Ram Jethmalani to get a legal position on the issue. Even as the law minister continued with his exercise late in the evening, a delegation of Shiv Sena leaders who met Vajpayee earlier in the day claimed the Prime Minister had assured them that Thackeray would not be arrested. The PMO sources, however, refused to confirm the claim saying no such assurance was given to the delegation.

The Maharashtra political drama spilled over to the Centre early in the day when industry minister Manohar Joshi handed over his resignation letter to the Prime Minister soon after the meeting of the cabinet committee on disinvestment saying he felt "uncomfortable" in the government after the Maharashtra government issued threats of prosecution against "my leader."Later in the day, fertiliser minister Suresh Prabhu and minister of state for finance Bala Saheb Vikhe Patil also sent in their resignations saying they could not continue in the government because of "vitiated atmosphere".

Even as the resignation drama continued, it became clear that the NDA government faced no threat as a result of their resignations. Responding to reporters' queries earlier in the day, Manohar Joshi said: "This is not a protest against the Centre and this does not put a question mark over our alliance with the NDA." What if the resignations were not accepted? "It will lead to a peculiar situation. We will decide after consulting our leader", said Manohar Joshi soon after meeting the Prime Minister at the head of a Shiv Sena delegation. Joshi's version was virtually repeated by the BJP too.

Party Vice Prsident J.P.Mathur told newspersons: "There is no threat to the Central government as their resignation is against the Maharashtra government for its action threat to Bal Thackeray." Shiv Sena has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha and is the third largest group in the lower house.

The Sena delegation also met Home Minister L.K.Advani and apprised him of the situation in Maharashtra in the wake of arrest threat to Thackeray and requested him to arrest the situation from deteriorating further. Advani reported assured them that he would look into the issue. Law and order being a state subject, the Centre does not have a direct hand in controlling the matter.

The situation in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, meanwhile, continued to remain tense with law and order authorities waiting for a formal order from the state government to arrest Thackeray for his alleged communal writings during the 1993 riots in Mumbai.

The tension was only exacerbated by the state authorities reiterating on Tuesday that "no one was above law" and that Prosecution of Thackeray was inevitable.

The Congress which shares power with NCP in Maharashtra ridiculed the resignation threat of the Sena ministers. Terming it as a "blackmailing" tactic, the Congress said it was also a mockery of democracy.