On Opposition's Demand To Dismiss Government, Ajit Pawar's "26/11" Retort

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday took a swipe at the opposition over its demand to dismiss the Eknath Shinde-led government over the law and order situation, stating that it has the backing of 225 MLAs in the 288-member assembly.

Speaking at an event here where Congress leader Baba Siddique joined the Nationalist Congress Party led by him, Mr Pawar said no such demand was made after the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, when a Congress-led coalition was in power in Maharashtra.

"Opposition today demanded dismissal of the government. Our Mahayuti (BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance) has the support of 225 MLAs. Attempts are being made by some people to create an atmosphere of fear that there is breakdown of law and order in the state....when the 26/11 terrorist attacks took place, no such demand was made," Mr Pawar said.

He, however, clarified that he was not defending or justifying the recent incidents of violence over which the opposition has trained its guns on the government.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray earlier in the day sought dismissal of the government in the wake of the murder of his party's leader Abhishek Ghosalkar in Mumbai's Borivali area, and an incident earlier this month in Thane district where BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad opened fire inside a police station and injured a worker of the Eknath Shinde-led Sena.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)