Mumbai, May 13 (IANS) The Nationalist Congress Party launched a no-holds barred attack on alliance partner, Congress over the recent RBI move to supersede the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank board of directors.

Smarting after the RBI's move, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar breathed fire on the Congress leaders, blaming them for pushing the MSC Bank to the brink of insolvency, at the party's state executive committee meeting here late this evening.

Naming several Congress leaders, Pawar accused them of taking massive loans from the bank, failing to repay them and consequently the bank suffered huge losses.

He took the names of former Congress ministers Amrish Patel, P. K. Anna Patil, former deputy speaker Pramod Shende, legislators Sudhakar Gangane and Prakash Bharkasle who, he alleged availed of loans worth several billion rupees and then defaulting on the repayment.

Referring to the Dhule-based Patel, Pawar said that his Priyadarshani spinning mill caused a loss of Rs 1.72 billion as per the MSC Bank's audit report, he said.
Pawar pointed out that the spinning mill was valued at Rs.3.25 billion but the MSC Bank claimed to the state government that it could recover Rs 3.50 billion from the mill.

Similar was the case with the Indira Wardha spinning mill run by Shende, Pawar alleged.

He said it was strange that Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan recently felicitated the very people who caused the bank to go bankrupt and said: "The truth will come out very soon."

Training his guns on Bharatiya Janata Party's Leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse, who had said last week that the NCP excelled in 'committing dacoity,' Pawar said such persons also would soon be exposed.

Not to be left behind, Home Minister R.R. Patil declared that NCP would respond to the MSC Bank issue appropriately: "Int ka jawab, patthar se denge," Patil roared to a huge round of applause from the party workers and office-bearers.

"We are capable of giving a befitting reply whenever the situation warrants it. If we are keeping quiet today does not prove we are demoralized," Patil said.

Several leaders who spoke conveyed their feelings that Prithviraj Chavan was imposed from the centre and attained power without ever winning an election.

They also expressed resentment that Chavan appeared to be showing undue interest in matters pertaining to the NCP.