Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said that there was no “pressure politics” in Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray about the implementation of welfare programmes for Dalits and Adivasis in the state, NDTV reported.

In her letter on December 14, Gandhi had reminded Thackeray of the Common Minimum Programme of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and sought the implementation of the welfare measures, according to PTI.

Raut said that work on the Common Minimum Programme was delayed due to the coronavirus crisis. “Some projects have been left pending because of the increased work because of the pandemic,” he said.

He added: “If the Congress party has brought forward an agenda which is in the interest of people of Maharashtra and the state, then, it should be welcomed. There is no pressure politics. We are in alliance with Congress.”

Raut also said that Gandhi and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar had an important role in the formation of the coalition government in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra Congress President and state minister Balasaheb Thorat also clarified that Gandhi had not written to Thackeray out of resentment, PTI reported. “Congress’s stand has always been in favour of uplifting poor and deprived sections of the society and [Sonia] Gandhi’s letter was part of dialogue on how welfare measures can be taken,” Thorat said.

The letter was significant because it marked the first time that Gandhi wrote to Thackeray since the formation of the coalition government in October last year.

Also read: Maharashtra: BJP’s gambit failed – but how long will unwieldy Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance last?

Gandhi said in her letter that professionals belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes must be given reservation in government contracts in order to boost entrepreneurship. She added that budget allocation for the development of SC/STs should be proportionate to their population share.

“The focus should be on bringing these communities on par with the rest of society at the earliest,” Gandhi wrote, according to PTI. “There should be legislative backing to utilise the funds allocated (for schemes for SC/STs) during the same financial year.”

The Congress president also expressed confidence that the Thackeray-led government will implement the scheme efficiently.

The Shiv Sena formed a coalition government with the NCP and Congress as it fell out with its former ally Bharatiya Janata Party following the Assembly election results in 2019. The alliance came to be known as the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

The Sena claimed that before the Lok Sabha elections, Amit Shah had promised it the chief minister’s post for two-and-a-half years. The Shiv Sena had also demanded half of all Cabinet berths, but the BJP rejected these demands. The political impasse lasted for several weeks.