Scuffle breaks out between ruling, opposition MLAs outside Maharashtra Assembly

Mumbai: Chaos ensued outside Mumbai Vidhan Bhavan on Wednesday after MLAs from the ruling and opposition clashed outside the premises. The clash broke out as opposition MLAs supporting the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA faction were protesting against the government. This is when they got into a war of words with the Eknath Shinde-faction MLAs and a scuffle broke out.

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 engaged in fisticuffs and 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 noisy ruckus outside the legislature.

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

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.

Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar reacted sharply saying that the CM's statements amounted to a 'threat' to the Opposition.

The Opposition has been needling the Bharatiya Janata Party-propped Shinde government with embarrassing 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 -- which are getting wide media coverage -- have apparently enraged the rebel Shiv Sena Group and culminated in the CM unexpectedly losing his composure in the legislature on Tuesday.