Sharad Pawar today came under continued needling from Congress which virtually held him responsible for spiralling food prices.

"The food inflation falls squarely within the ministries of Agriculture, Food Distribution and Consumer Affairs(all under Pawar's charge)," Party spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters here.

His comments came a day after Pawar met Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray ostensibly with the plea to let Australian players take part in the IPL while sending a subtle message to Congress which has come down hard on him over soaring food prices.

The Pawar-Thackeray meeting also came on a day the Centre asked the Maharashtra government to take firm action against the "divisive agenda" of the Shiv Sena.

Replying to a volley of questions, Tewari said that the party was well within its rights to reflect the concerns of millions of people in the country.

The spokesman, however, sought to dismiss suggestions that the party had resorted to "bashing" of Pawar in the recently concluded Congress Working Committee meeting on the issue of price rise.

"I want to disagree with you. Congress does not resort to bashing up of its allies," he said.

Tewari said that the party believes in collective responsibility and that responsibilities in the government are divided. "It's collective as well as differentiative responsibilities," he said.

Congress sources said that the NCP chief by meeting Thackeray has expressed vote of no confidence in his Home Minister in the state.

NCP holds the Home portfolio in Maharashtra with RR Patil in charge of Home affiars.

Tewari side-stepped questions about Congress views on Pawar's meeting Thackeray saying, "who meets whom and why, only the concerned person can reply to it. It concerns him (Pawar)."

To drive home his point, Tewari went on to state that Congress has "political relationship" with NCP.

He also tried to link Pawar's meeting with Thackeray as a matter concerning only cricket. Cricket is an altogether different world and who meets whom in this connection is not Congress' concern.

Rahul Gandhi has shown what Congress thinks about secularism and how it wants to handle the parochial regionalism and such tendencies, he said when pointed out that Pawar's meeting with Thackeray comes after the war of words between Gandhi and Shiv Sena.

Tewari also appeared to endorse Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan disapproving Pawar's meeting with Thackeray.

"I do not think there is need to take permission from any other authority in the state... There cannot be an extra-constitutional authority," Chavan told reporters here adding that "...government is competent, it is the authority and there can not be two authorities in the state."

Tewari said that law and order is the responsibility of the state government. "It is their responsibility to ensure that the state's writ runs. I am confident that Maharashtra government will measure up to it," he said.