Maharashtra govt 'stable and strong', to complete full term: NCP

Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik on Thursday asserted that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government is stable and strong and will definitely complete its five-year term. Malik alleged that the BJP keeps gossiping about the stability of the government.

Mumbai (Maharashtra):The Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, which has completed six months of its formation, is stable and strong and will definitely complete its five-year term, state minister Nawab Malik said on Thursday.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had taken oath as the Chief Minister on November 28 last year along with six ministers, two each from his party, the NCP and the Congress, and the Cabinet was expanded later.

The opposition BJP earlier raised questions over the stability of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, formed by three ideologically different parties. Some of the BJP leaders had reportedly said it will be a short-lived regime.

Referring to that, state Minority Affairs Minister and NCPs national spokesperson Nawab Malik said, "The government has completed six months. It is stable and strong. The BJP had said this government would be short-lived. But it will definitely complete its five-year stint."

Malik alleged that the BJP keeps gossiping about the stability of the government. "And the government will not come down just because they are gossiping, he quipped.

BJP MP Narayan Rane earlier this week met Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari and demanded imposition of President's rule in the state over the Thackeray-led government''s 'failure' in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Malik said MVA was formed on the basis of a 'common minimum programme' drafted by the three parties, which are working unitedly. "The government is currently combating the COVID-19 threat. We will overcome it and will run the government properly, he said.

The Shiv Sena, which has 56 seats in the state Assembly, forged an alliance with the once-rival parties NCP (having 54 MLAs) and Congress (44 MLAs) to form the government last year, after severing ties with long-term ally BJP.

After elections to the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly last year, the Shiv Sena and BJP fell out over sharing the chief ministerial post in the state on a rotational basis.

(PTI Report)