Mumbai: Congress chief ministers are a harassed lot: they have to meet an inexhaustible demand for money by the All India Congress Committee general secretaries in charge of their states.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has all but thrown up his hands. He was so exasperated recently that he told his bosses in Delhi that they could raise money by auctioning his office.

Partymen say his reaction is justified - AICC Treasurer Motilal Vora, who is also in charge of the state, visits Mumbai almost every week.

And he doesn't like to return empty-handed.