India, Aug. 15 -- The NCP (SP) on Saturday accused Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of trying to mislead people over the closure of more than 36,000 companies in the state, days after party chief Sharad Pawar raised concerns over the issue.

The NCP (SP) cited the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs' response to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha regarding the closure of 36,211 companies in Maharashtra over the past five years.

Responding to the Opposition's criticism, Fadnavis had claimed that some people were deliberately citing figures for non-functional companies that had never commenced operations.

On Saturday, the NCP (SP) said the official Lok Sabha reply did not mention that 76 per cent of these companies were "d...