National Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) MLA Jitendra Awhad on Thursday alleged that a plan to “kill him was foiled” after his supporters clashed with those of BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar at the Maharashtra legislature premises, turning the Vidhan Bhavan into a battleground.
The clash happened a day after a heated exchange between the two legislators. Supporters of Jitendra Awhad and Gopichand Padalkar were involved in the scuffle and came to blows briefly before onlookers separated the two groups, an eyewitness said.
Speaking to reporters, BJP’s Padalkar said, “I do not know anything about the incident. You can ask him [Awhad], he is sitting in the House. I do not know anyone who was involved.”
Meanwhile, Jitendra Awhad said, “I do not want to say anything. If MCOCA accused are coming inside [Assembly] and after the plan to kill me was foiled, they are trying to kill my workers, what can be an action more petty than this?”
“If MCOCA accused can come in and hatch a plan to kill…I had been noticing for the past three days that these same people were watching me…But this has crossed all limits,” Jitendra Awhad said.
“If MLAs are not safe even inside the Vidhan Bhavan, what is the point of being a public representative? What is our crime? I had just stepped out to get some fresh air. I think they came to attack me,” he claimed.
After the clash, the BJP MLA met senior minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and expressed apology over the incident.
On Wednesday, a video of a heated altercation between Jitendra Awhad and Gopichand Padalkar outside the legislature complex went viral on social media. The two MLAs were seen exchanging sharp words near the entrance gate.
Jitendra Awhad later alleged that Padalkar had forcefully shut his car door after stepping out, hitting him in the process – an act Awhad claimed was deliberate.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condemned the incident and suggested “stringent action” against those involved in the clashes. “Assembly speaker and council chairman should take stringent action against those involved,” he said.
People coming in such large numbers and creating this scene in Vidhan Bhavan is a serious matter, he said.
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