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Economy and law and order are Deshmukh's priorities

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh today said the Congress-NCP alliance government in Maharashtra would lay special emphasis on reviving the economy and improving law and order situation in the state.

Talking to mediapersons at the state secretariat after taking oath of office and secrecy at Raj Bhavan, Deshmukh said the government would embark upon a Common Minimum Programme, which would be formalised and drafted in a fortnight's time.

The Congress-NCP alliance government replaces the Shiv Sena-BJP combine which ruled the state for nearly four years and eight months.

After taking oath, both Deshmukh and his deputy Chhagan Bhujbal, drove to Mantralaya and were welcomed by party workers by bursting crackers. They garlanded the portrait of Chhatrapati Shivaji and spoke to mediapersons on the ground floor.

Deshmukh and Bhujbal then met senior government officials, including the chief secretary, in the chief minister's chamber and discussed issues related to the state.

Earlier, fielding questions from mediapersons, Deshmukh said his government would not harbour any feeling of revenge while reviewing the policies of the previous government. ''We will retain all people oriented policies and review the rest,'' he added.

When asked about Enron and implementation of the Srikrishna Commission report, the chief minister said: ''We would verify all facts. If there is anything wrong, we would take action as per the law.''

Regarding the issue of speakership, Deshmukh said that all the coalition partners have authorised him to take the final decision. The council of ministers would be sworn-in tomorrow at Raj Bhavan at 1 pm.

To a question, he said that the Cong-NCP government would last for its full term. ''We have to respect the mandate of the people. The anti-Sena-BJP vote in the recently concluded elections was an overwhelming 69 per cent. If we had not come together, it would have been an insult to the people,'' he added.

Deshmukh left in the afternoon for Delhi to discuss the ministry formation with the high command.

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