NCP for voting on money bills in Budget session to expose Sena

NCP will demand voting on money bills during the Budget session of the Maharashtra legislature beginning March 6 to "expose" Shiv Sena, the estranged ally of the ruling BJP in state government.
"We will get to know during the voting whether Shiv Sena supports the Devendra Fadnavis government or not," party spokesman Nawab Malik told reporters.
He demanded that Sena should walk out of the state government as it has "failed" people.
Sena, the alliance partner in the BJP-led state and Central governments, is contesting the upcoming civic polls, including Mumbai, slated for February 21, on its own without any tie-up.

Responding to a query, Malik recalled NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's statement that the party was ready to face mid-term elections in the state, given rupturing of the ties between the saffron allies.
On NCP declaring its outside support to BJP which had emerged as the single largest bloc in 2014 Assembly elections, Malik said it was done with the intention to avoid "prospects of immediate elections or of suspension of Assembly."

Though BJP had emerged as the single largest party, it fell short of the requisite numbers to form government on its own.
"In the last two and half years, people are fed up with the BJP government and NCP will not do anything to save it," the NCP leader said.

Meanwhile, Malik claimed the BJP's advertisements appearing in all newspapers do not mention name of the printer and publisher.
"We will complain to the Election Commission in this regard," he said, adding the Mumbai unit of BJP has spent Rs 500 crore on advertising irrespective of the limits imposed by the poll watchdog.
(Reopens BES 14)
Interestingly, Malik criticised the BJP's demand
seeking ban on Sena organ "Saamana" for three days during the upcoming civic polls.
"Ban on newspaper is like murder of democracy. The demand for a ban is against the freedom of expression," he said.
BJP had written to State Election Commission demanding ban on publication of Saamana on February 16, 20 and 21, arguing that since the newspaper is a Sena mouthpiece, it would continue to 'impress' voters even after campaigning for civic polls comes to end.