Mumbai, Jul 10 (PTI) The Maharashtra legislative council on Thursday witnessed a heated altercation between Shiv Sena minister Shamburaj Desai and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab after the latter's "traitor" jibe targeted at the former, leading to the House being adjourned for a brief period.
The fiery exchange of words unfolded during a discussion on the demand of reserving 50 per cent of the units in newly built housing societies for Marathi people.
Deputy Chairperson of the council, Neelam Gorhe, later announced that the remarks made by the two leaders would be expunged from the official records.
During the Question Hour, Milind Narvekar of the Shiv Sena (UBT) asked a question that a social organisation has demanded 50 per cent of the housing units in the city be reserved for Marathi people.
He also asked whether the government has taken any positive decision on this.
In a written response, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is also the Housing Minister, said the department has not received any such letter from the social organisation.
BJP leader Chitra Wagh, a nominated member of the House, said it was appropriate to reserve 50 per cent houses for Marathi people. She asked whether there was any such proposal when Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister.
To this, minister Desai, who was replying on behalf of Shinde, said there was no such proposal when the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was in power.
"No one has the right to deny Marathi manoos a house in Mumbai, its suburbs or Maharashtra. If any builder does this, the government will take strict action," he said.
Shiv Sena leader Hemant Patil, in an apparent dig at Thackeray, said when people are in power, there is a chance to do some good for Marathi manoos, Chaturvedis are sent to Rajya Sabha instead of Narvekars.
He was apparently referring to Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi.
Sena (UBT) MLC Parab said he had brought an unofficial bill in the House to reserve 50 per cent of the houses in redeveloped buildings for Marathi-speaking people. He also asked if the state government would bring such a law.
But minister Desai said when the MVA was in power during 2019-2022, it did not bring any such law.
"You did not do that and this has come on record. Your love for Marathi manoos is fake and hollow," Desai.
This resulted in a verbal altercation between the two with Parab dubbing Desai a "gaddar" (traitor), a jibe used by Sena (UBT) to attack the MLAs who were part of the group that sided with Eknath Shinde during the rebellion in 2022, leading to a split in the Shiv Sena.
A furious Desai questioned Parab for the remark, and asked him to meet outside the House.
As tempers ran high, Gorhe adjourned the House for 10 minutes. Later, she said the remarks made by Desai and Parab will not be part of the House's record.
After the proceedings of the House resumed, Desai said the government will do whatever was required to give priority to Marathi manoos in housing.
Later, talking to reporters on the Vidhan Bhavan premises, Desai, who handles the tourism, mining and ex-servicemen welfare portfolios, said the confrontation between him and Parab took place during a debate over protection for native Maharashtrians in housing projects in Mumbai and its surrounding region.
"The discussion was about legal provisions to ensure housing for Marathi people. BJP MLC Chitra Wagh asked whether the MVA government had made any such legal provision. I replied that no such step had been taken by that government," Desai said.
The minister said his reply appeared to have provoked Parab.
"Parab called me a 'gaddar' (traitor). I responded in a similar language, and it led to a heated exchange," Desai said.
"I even tried telling him that in the MVA government, I was a minister of state, while Parab was a cabinet minister. He was closer to Uddhav Thackeray," the minister said, adding that he hit back at Parab for calling him a traitor.
"We are also followers of late Balasaheb Thackeray. If someone raises voice against us, uses insulting language - we will not tolerate it. I raised my voice and used similar language because he did so," he said.
"Balasaheb has taught us tit-for-tat. If he (Parab) stretches this matter, I am prepared to go further and respond to him in his language. Parab even warned me, saying he would deal with me outside the House. I accepted the challenge and told him I was ready to take him on," he added.