Ahead of the Maharashtra legislature's budget session, BJP legislators staged a protest on steps of the Vidhan Bhavan against the state government's decision not to remove minister Nawab Malik from his post.

Last week, the Enforcement Directorate arrested state Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. On Thursday, BJP legislators, led by Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis, LoP in the Legislative Council Pravin Darekar and state BJP president Chandrakant Patil shouted slogans against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress.