MUMBAI, Nov 18: Former Maharashtra Minister Ramrao Adik, who was recently appointed chairman of a committee to probe the status of the Brihanmumbai Regional Congress Committee (BRCC), appears to be going about it with a considerable amount of caution. The first meeting of the six-member committee, set up by the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), proved to be a non-starter last week when two members considered close supporters of BRCC president Murli Deora failed to turn up.

According to Adik, they could have proceeded with the meeting but he was doing his best to ``avoid fights and misunderstandings''.

``Already some hot words and allegations had been exchanged between Murli Deora and Gurunath Kulkarni (MPCC general secretary) and Deora and Ranjit Deshmukh (MPCC president) the week before. So I decided there will be no decisions in the absence of Sharad Dighe and Virendra Bakshi.''

And to avoid bad blood, Adik has now invited Deora to sit in on the next meeting of the committee scheduled for Saturday.

However, the BRCC president has conveyed his inability to attend as he has prior engagements in New Delhi on that day. In fact, he left for the capital today.

Adik takes the absence at face value. ``Nothing will be done in a hurry. Bakshi was out of town at our last meeting. But I spoke to Dighe and he said he had not received the papers setting out the terms of the committee,'' Adik said. The earlier communication to members of the committee had been made on telephone. So now Adik has decreed that everything be put down in writing. Accordingly, Adik has written to Deora as well as Dighe and Bakshi to be doubly sure. ``We will meet on Saturday, even though Deora cannot be present. But to avoid problems in the future, we will not come to any conclusions at this meeting. We will wait until Deora has time and finds it convenient to attend so that whatever decisions we take cannot be said to be unfair and arbitrary. Our strict policy is that there should be no antagonism,'' Adik told The Indian Express.

Says Deshmukh, ``Deora has taken it in the wrong sense. This is merely an attempt to restructure the party constitution and establish a proper hierarchy and relationship between all the frontal organisations. We have put two of Deora's people on the committee. They are free to make out their case. If they do not wish to do so, we will inform the AICC accordingly. We are not out to destroy anything,'' he adds.

Adik endorses Deshmukh's assertion, emphasising that his committee is not on a witch hunt. ``We are not against any individual. On the contrary, this is an attempt to foster better understanding and co-ordination,'' he says.Adik, however, stresses that at present, there is precious little by way of the expected ``co-ordination''. ``The BRCC was originally a Pradesh Congress Committee. It was dissolved in 1977 by the Congress Working Committee and it became the `BCCCC' -- the Bombay Congress Central Co-ordination Committee.

This was because Mumbai had six huge districts that needed better co-ordination at all times, including election-time.''

He says the MPCC was asked to amend its constitution accordingly with the BRCC president, its ex-officio vice president and one general secretary representing the BRCC on the MPCC. ``The constitution did not mention a separate parliamentary board for the BRCC, only a committee drawn from both the BRCC and the MPCC to decide on tickets for corporation elections,'' he points out.

But now that the BRCC has its own parliamentary board, this makes it awkward for a leader of the Congress Legislature Party or a Chief Minister to be a mere invitee to it. ``However, whatever we do, we are not here to throw anyone out of the committee. Only an equalisation of relationships is intended,'' he adds.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.