Maha Vikas Aghadi enjoys support of over 175 MLAs: NCP

Mumbai: With the BJP questioning Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's "silence" on various issues and asking the state Governor to seek a status report from the government, NCP leader Nawab Malik on Wednesday said the CM will speak at right time and that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has support of more than 175 MLAs.

He also termed as "baseless" the BJP's allegations against the Shiv Sena-led government on several issues.

Taking a swipe, Malik, who holds Minority Development portfolio, said leaders of BJP must understand that President's Rule cannot be imposed in a state "just like that".

He claimed the MVA- comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress- has support of more than 175 MLAs.

The state Assembly has 288 MLAs.

Malik's reaction came after a BJP delegation met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday morning and requested him to send a report on current situation in the state to President Ram Nath Kovind.

Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who led the delegation, questioned Thackeray's "silence" on various

issues.

The BJP has been targeting the Thackeray-led government over former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh's graft charges against state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and also on a purported state intelligence department report on "corruption" in police transfers in Maharashtra.

"The chief minister will speak at the right time. He need not speak on every issue....He will speak at appropriate time. BJP's allegations are baseless," Malik said.

Earlier on Wednesday, stating that the BJP's "key motive" is to create instability in Maharashtra by imposing President's Rule, the Shiv Sena alleged "collusion" between the BJP and some officials with an aim to weaken the MVA government.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Wednesday demanded probe by a committee headed by a judge to get "more clarity" on the issue of corruption allegations against state home minister Anil Deshmukh.

"(NCP chief Sharad) Pawar himself has talked about the need for neutral probe into the Rs 100 crore allegation made by Singh. We demand the formation of a committee headed by a sitting or retired judge for more clarity on this," Patole told reporters here.