Stepping up pressure on the Congress, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Industries Minister Praful Patel today stayed away from office, a day after skipping a meeting of the union cabinet. The Congress’s attempts at damage control appear to have failed to mollify the NCP. Both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Pawar for talks, and the PM described him as a “very valued colleague” whose knowledge, wisdom and experience were a “great asset”.