Demand to allow oppn leaders at cabinet meeting laughable: NCP

Mumbai: The NCP today termed the Shiv Sena's demand to allow opposition leaders and journalists at the cabinet meetings of Maharashtra government as "laughable".

"Shiv Sena's demand is laughable and is constitutionally wrong. For the past one month we were witnessing a `Mahabharat' (the war of words between the ruling alliance partners BJP and Shiv Sena). Now we see this childishness," the state NCP chief Sunil Tatkare said here.

In yesterday's cabinet meeting, the first after the Mumbai civic elections, Sena ministers demanded that opposition leaders and journalists should be allowed to attend these meetings for more "transparency".

"For the first time in 30 years the state has a government which has the strength in numbers, with 190 legislators supporting it. But its weakness otherwise is evident," Tatkare said, when asked if the opposition would bring a no-confidence motion in the coming Budget session.

Congress and NCP will join hands for the elections for Zilla Parishad presidents on March 21, he said.

"Congress will have to have a tie-up with us in Osmanabad and Raigad. It had a pre-poll alliance with Shiv Sena in these two districts," Tatkare said.

At a meeting of NCP leaders chaired by the party president Sharad Pawar here today, it was decided that party organisation should be strengthened at the booth level, Tatkare said.

Claiming that NCP emerged as the second-largest party in the ZP and municipal elections of last month, he said it had "done fairly well compared to the performance in the 2014 Assembly polls".

Party MPs Supriya Sule and Praful Patel were among those who attended today's meeting.