Clashes over 'Gaddar,' '50 khoke,' 'Matoshri Ok' slogans outside Maharashtra Assembly

In an unprecedented development, legislators from the Treasury and Opposition benches came face-to-face, engaged in sloganeering and jostled with each other at the stairs of the Vidhan Bhavan complex in Nariman Point in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Ever since the brief Monsoon Session of Maharashtra Legislature commenced, the ruling Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena were at war of words, which was witnessed both inside and outside the Houses.

On Wednesday morning, NCP MLC and spokesperson Amol Mitkari and rebel Shinde-camp MLA Mahesh Shinde engaged in a scuffle. The legislators of both the sides, who were armed with posters and banners, taunted each other.

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Enraged by the ongoing tirade of 'gaddars' (traitors) and '50 khoke' (Rs 50 crore) by the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi legislators, the supporters of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde retaliated in full force on the footsteps of the Maharashtra Legislature.

A few MLAs of the Shinde Group accosted the MVA legislators who were raising slogans against the government for the fourth day since the Legislature started its Monsoon Session last week, resulting in jostling between the two sides.

At one point, Shinde group MLA Dilip Lande and Nationalist Congress Party's Amil Mitkari pushed each other even as their respective groups separated them.

The Shinde Group MLAs also hit back by shouting their own slogans and waving posters to counter the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress' rants, creating a ruckus outside the legislature.

"BMC Khoke, Matoshri Ok", "(Sachin) Vaze Khoke, Shiv Sena Ok", "Lavasa Khoke, Baramati Ok", screamed the Shinde Group MLAs.

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The development came a day after Shinde warned the Opposition that "he could expose" records of those targeting him and his group of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs.

Both MLA Mahesh Shinde and Mitkari have lodged separate complaints against each other with CM Shinde and Speaker Rahul Narwekar, demanding a probe into the incident by examining the CCTV footage, even as a female journalist was also pushed around in the melee.

Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar, NCP State President Jayant Patil, Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari, Congress' Yashomati Thakur and other leaders from different parties attacked the Shinde group accusing them of making brazen attempts to "crush the democratic protests and silencing the Opposition".

"Our agitation on '50 khoke' has hit a raw nerve... That's why they have reacted in this manner," said Pawar grimly.

Jayant Patil said the whole country has witnessed the arough' behaviour of the Shinde Group MLAs and the electorate will not forgive them, while Mitkari demanded to know whether the Opposition legislators would be 'finished off'.

Other Shinde group lawmakers, including Bharat Gogawale and Dilip Lande, snarled that they were "loyal Shiv Sainiks of Balasaheb Thackeray" and would not desist from teaching a lesson to anybody who dares them, while Mahesh Shinde claimed the Opposition MVA was trying to "smother" their peaceful protest.

The Opposition has been taunting the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Shinde government with slogans like 'gaddar', 'Rs 50 crore, very ok", 'Tav Vati, Chao Guwahati' (Plates and bowl, Go to Guwahati), and a new one on Wednesday, 'ED jiski mummy, Wo sarkar nikammi" (the government whose mummy is ED is useless).

The daily protests and sloganeering since the start of the legislature session on August 17 have apparently enraged the rebel Shiv Sena group and culminated in the CM unexpectedly losing his composure in the legislature on Tuesday.

(With inputs from IANS)