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Hours after the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Friday said they had issues over the functioning of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh reached out to his sulking coalition partner, and called NCP president Sharad Pawar a “very valued colleague.” Dr. Singh said that Pawar's knowledge, wisdom and experience are great assets to the government. The PM had spoken to Pawar on Thursday evening, while UPA chief Sonia Gandhi met him on Friday morning to discuss the issues raised by him. Earlier in the day, asserting that the NCP has been a pillar of strength both inside the government and outside in the functioning of UPA, Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel had said the contents of Sharad Pawar's letter have been misreported. Patel said that his party would also prepare in a responsible manner for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections along with the UPA, while adding that some sections inside the Congress were fuelling unnecessary speculation. "Pawar sent a communication to the Prime Minister raising some issues; unfortunately there has been speculation over the communication. I am very pained that there are some sections in the Congress party that have been wrongly briefing the media. They are trying to drive a wedge between two old alliance partners," he said. Patel further said the issue over the number two slot in the UPA has been blown out of proportion. "The position of Pawar does not depend on the numbers of seats of NCP. By the same logic he should not have been sitting next to Sonia or Pranab. Pawar is not a petty leader to be raising such petty issues," he said. Both Pawar and Patel skipped a cabinet meeting last evening. Media reports earlier said that Pawar is extremely perturbed with the fact that after Pranab Mukherjee resigned from the Union Cabinet to contest the presidential election, Defence Minister A.K. Antony occupied the seat next to the Prime Minister at Cabinet meetings, reserved for the second most senior member of the government. He is also said to be disappointed for not being included in the high-level Cabinet Committee on Security.

Pawar a very valued colleague: PM