Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

However, Pawar also added that he is ready to help in uniting the Opposition. Talking to media persons in Kolhapur, Pawar said that some of his party’s youth wing workers recently passed a resolution to make him the chairperson of UPA, but he has zero interest in it.

In a letter to Thackeray, state Congress President Nana Patole said that the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress - hailing from different ideological backgrounds -- had decided to run the MVA government on the basis of a CMP. "Owing to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020, the CMP implementation was delayed, but now as the coronavirus threat is over, the CMP should be executed for the overall development of all sections of society," Patole urged the Chief Minister.

Coming three days after his brother-in-law faced action by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Thackeray also questioned the corruption allegations levelled by the BJP and the actions of various central probe agencies to defame the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, its leaders and their families.

Malik, 62, who held the Minority Affairs and Skill Development, besides being Guardian Minister of Gondiya and Parbhani districts, was arrested on February 23, and is currently in judicial custody till March 21. At a meeting presided over by the NCP President Sharad Pawar, it was decided to relieve Malik of his portfolios and other official charges to ensure work does not suffer and files don't pile up in his absence.