Maharashtra: Members from treasury, Opposition clash outside Vidhan Bhavan with carrots

Legislators from the state’s treasury department, and from the Opposition clashed at the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan complex on Wednesday—engaging in sloganeering and jostling.

The tempers of the opposing groups have been on the boil since the commencement of Maharashtra legislature’s monsoon session. The ruling coalition of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena rebel and Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition of the Maha Vikas Aghadi—with Nationalist Congress Party, Indian National Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena—were at loggerheads over several issues.

On Wednesday, the two warring groups took their differences outside the legislature as well.

There was a confrontation between the member of legislative council (MLC) from NCP Amol Mitkari and Mahesh Shinde, an MLA from Shinde-camp’s Shiv Sena on Wednesday morning. Soon, the two were joined by other legislators—who came armed with posters and banner—and began taunting each other.

However, some senior leaders from both sides tried to intervene and pacify them.

The opposition members also showed carrots to the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs.

“For the last two months they have been repeating ‘gaddar’ (traitor)…the MLAs were being defamed. Today under the leadership of group leader Bharat Gogawale, we started a protest,” said Mahesh Shinde, who is a legislator from Koregaon in Satara. “When they were protesting, we did not nothing. When we raised slogans, they could not digest.”

“We are protesting, which is our right, but they are trying to silence us,” Mitkari said.

He also accused the rebel MLAs of abuse. “They abused us and tried to assault us. We have registered our protest with the chief minister,” he said.

However, rebel group leader Gogawale said, “They came on us, we gave them back.”

Reacting to the skirmish outside Vidhan Bhavan, NCP member and leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar said: “Our agitation on ‘pannas khoke’ seems to have hit a raw nerve… That’s why they have reacted in this manner.”

The clash occurred a day after Chief Minister Shinde warned the Opposition about his ability to divulge “records” of those targeting him and his group of Shiv Sena MLAs. Reportedly, that did not deter the MVA leaders, who met to decide about exposing the rebel group.

Since the upheaval in Shiv Sena, which led to a split in the party and fall of the MVA government, the Opposition had been targeting the Shinde camp through phrases and slogans such as “gaddar” (traitor), “pannas khokhe, ekdum ok” (50 boxes, just fine) “chalo Guwahati” (Let’s go to Guwahati), and “ED jiski mummy, wo sarkar nikammi” (government with ED as ‘mom’ is useless).