Maharashtra: MLAs from Eknath Shinde faction, opposition come to blows at Vidhan Bhavan premises

MUMBAI: The legislators from Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and NCP camps indulged in fisticuffs as they came face to face right at the entrance of the assembly on Wednesday. Both the camps were into sloganeering against each other when Amol Mitkari from NCP and Mahesh Shinde from Shinde camp had a scuffle and a heated exchange of words.
When the legislators from Shinde faction were sloganeering against the alleged failure of the erstwhile MVA government, the legislators from opposition who had already staged similar agitation against ruling side went angry sparking the face-off. Both the MLAs have accused each other of using foul language.
According to the eyewitnesses, the NCP MLAs had carried carrots on the steps of the legislature building in an bid to taunt the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP coalition. The Shinde faction MLAs tried to snatch the carrots from the NCP legislators, raising tension between them.
Shinde and Mitkari then virtually came to blows at the steps of the legislature building.
The videos later aired clearly by TV channels showed the legislators sharing expletives. Some legislators from the two sides, including Rohit Pawar from NCP and Pratap Sarnaik from Shinde camp then intervened and diffused the tension.
Bharat Gogawale, the MLA from the Shinde camp, told reporters that the opposition legislators should not have come near them when they were staging the protest. "They started arguing first. When they protested all these days, we did not interfere," he said. Meanwhile, Mitkari has lodged a complaint with the chief minister against Mahesh Shinde for allegedly hitting and abusing him.
Over the last few days opposition has been sloganeering against the ruling camp over issues related to farmers. For the first time on Wednesday members from both the sides came face to face shouting slogans against each other and then went into the House to attend the day's proceedings. The face-off continued for almost 20 minutes.
Earlier, legislators of the ruling BJP and those from the Shinde faction had staged a protest in the Vidhan Bhavan premises targeting former CM Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray. They carried banners with messages alleging corruption in the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and claimed the Thackerays compromised Hindutva for power.
Some of the banners carried the message: “Raja stayed indoors due to fear of COVID-19 while friends of the yuvraj looted the treasury.” The MLAs also shouted slogans like “standing committee che khoke...Matoshree (Thackerays' residence in Bandra E) okay,” alleging corruption in the BMC with the support from Thackerays. Standing committee is the governing body of the BMC, where the elections are due.
Leader of opposition Ajit Pawar said the slogan pannas khokey ----- ekdam okay (50 boxes...absolutely okay) he had given in the assembly a few minutes before the face off might have enraged the ruling party legislators. This, he said has proved the fact that his slogan was meaningful and apt as it hit the right chord.
The state legislature's monsoon session will conclude on Thursday.