Two elected representatives of the ruling BJP came to blows during the district planning committee meeting UP’s Sant Kabir Nagar on Wednesday, 6 March, evening in full public glare.
The incident took place when the planning committee meeting was underway at the collectorate in the presence of minister in-charge of the district, Ashutosh Tandon.
BJP MP from Sant Kabir Nagar Sharad Tripathi and MLA from Mehdawal, Rakesh Baghel, got involved in a verbal duel over taking credit for a newly laid road.
After a brief exchange of words, laced with abuses, both came to blows with one of them using a shoe to thrash the other, leaving officials and party leaders stunned.
The video clip of the incident soon surfaced on TV channels.
A senior police official present in the meeting intervened to pacify the two and restore order as tempers ran high.
In the meantime, Tandon, the state Medical Education Minister, left the place.
The video shows Tripathi getting furious, complaining that his name was missing from the foundation stone for a road in the district’s Mehdawal area.
Asked to comment, BJP district president Set Bhan Rai said, "The minister called me and told me about the clash between the MP and the MLA during the meeting as I was somewhere else. The state BJP president also asked me about the incident."
When contacted, a BJP leader on condition of anonymity said in Lucknow that the issue involved senior leaders and state party president Mahendra Nath Pandey will decided on the matter.
The meeting was called off soon after the incident.
An eye witness said that the incident began with a heated argument between the MP and the MLA which snowballed into a physical fight.
"The meeting was underway when the brawl broke out between the BJP MP and MLA over some issue related to PWD. We could not even complete the meeting. This is highly condemnable. We were trying to discuss things about development, members and officers were also present," the witness added, as per ANI.
Following the incident, supporters of the legislator had gathered at the spot and started sloganeering against the MP.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)
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