(Corrects figure to 140,000 troops in paragraph six)

By Yara Bayoumy

BAGHDAD, April 11 (Reuters) - Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr criticised Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday for saying there was no need for a timetable on withdrawing U.S. troops and said Maliki was ignoring the demands of Iraqis.

The political movement of the fiery anti-American cleric, who led two uprisings against U.S. forces in 2004, threatened to pull out of the government to press their case for a timetable.

It was not the first time the Sadrists have threatened to quit the government, but Sadr's comments marked rare criticism of fellow Shi'ite Maliki and might raise questions over his continued support a two-month-old security plan in Baghdad.

"Did you not hear what he (Maliki) said?" Sadr said in a statement released in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf.

"What do you (Maliki) say to the millions who crawled to holy Najaf and ... demanded the exit of the occupiers," Sadr added, referring to protesters who answered his call for a big anti-American rally in the city on Monday.

While Sadr's movement said turnout at the event, which marked the fourth anniversary of when American forces swept into central Baghdad in 2003, was huge, other estimates said tens of thousands gathered to demand the roughly 140,000 U.S. troops leave Iraq.

U.S. President George W. Bush warned on Tuesday that setting timetables would undermine the U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown in Baghdad, which he said was beginning to show signs of progress in curbing sectarian violence.

On the same day, Maliki told reporters during a visit to Tokyo that he saw no need to set a timetable. He said his government was working to build up Iraq's security forces as quickly as possible so U.S.-led forces could leave.

WILL OF THE PEOPLE

Sadr's movement, which holds several ministries and a quarter of parliamentary seats in Maliki's Shi'ite Alliance, said the government was "ignoring the will of the people".

"Therefore, the Sadr movement is studying the option of pulling out of the Iraqi government," it said in a statement.

The Sadrists ended a two-month boycott of parliament in January after pulling out in protest over the timetable issue and a meeting between Maliki and Bush in Jordan. They returned after a deal was brokered.

The Sadrists also criticised the government's handling of the Baghdad crackdown, which the movement has previously said it supports, and complained about a lack of basic services.

Sadr himself was not at Monday's protests in Najaf. He has been keeping a low profile since the launch of the offensive. The U.S. military says he is in neighbouring Iran, but his aides insist he is still in Iraq.

Washington accuses his Mehdi Army militia of fuelling sectarian violence and says it is the biggest threat to peace in Iraq, a charge Sadr denies.

"I am the shield in front of the occupier," he said in the statement.

(Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy and Aseel Kami in Baghdad and Khaled Farhan in Najaf)

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