Breaking his silence over his colleague Devendra Fadnavis's open letter over Nawab Malik, Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde intervened to defuse the issue, reported news agency PTI.

Fadnavis wrote to Pawar earlier this month saying the BJP was opposed to former minister Nawab Malik's inclusion in the NCP faction led by Pawar. Malik, facing ED probe for alleged real estate dealings with gangster Dawood Ibrahim's associates, attended the assembly for the first time during the winter session here after getting bail on medical grounds, reported PTI.