Ajit Pawar misused NCP MLAs' letter of support: Ashok Chavan

Accusing NCP leader Ajit Pawar of betraying his party MLAs by "misusing" their letter of support, Congress leader Ashok Chavan on Sunday said that many lawmakers who were 'led astray' have come back to the party.

"Many MLAs who were led astray have come back. The rest of them will also come back soon. Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress has the number. Our all 44 MLAs are safe at the right place. We need not worry about anything," Chavan said while speaking to media here.

Being asked about his meeting with NCP chief Sharad Pawar, he said: "I met Pawar sa'ab. I have been told that the letter of the MLAs was misused by Ajit Pawar. The MLAs of Pawar sa'ab (Sharad) have denied giving any kind of support through that letter, they say their letter was misused."

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has issued notices to the Maharashtra government, state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputy Ajit Pawar and the Centre, and asked for relevant documents and letters of support from MLAs by 10 am tomorrow.

The top court while hearing the NCP-Sena-Congress plea against BJP-lead government formation in the state said appropriate orders will be passed tomorrow.

The Bench consisting Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna, asked the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to produce relevant documents including Maharashtra Governor's letter inviting BJP to form the government and letter of support of MLAs by 10 am tomorrow.

After a prolonged uncertainty over the government formation that lasted for nearly a month, Fadnavis on Saturday early morning took oath for the second consecutive term as the state Chief Minister, while Ajit Pawar was sworn-in as his deputy.

( With inputs from ANI )