An Indian member of parliament has been filmed attacking a state lawmaker from his own party during an official meeting on Wednesday.
The verbal duel between the lawmakers from India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, degenerated into a no-holds-barred physical scuffle in the presence of journalists and photographers.
BJP MP Sharad Tripathi and Member of Legislative Assembly Rakesh Baghel – both from the state of Uttar Pradesh – were participating in a meeting of a monitoring committee to take stock of development projects in Sant Kabir Nagar district.
According to media reports, Mr Tripathi was unhappy at not finding his name on the plaque at a foundation stone of a local road. Mr Baghel reportedly said it was his decision to drop the MP’s name.
The lawmakers had been locked in a heated argument before Mr Tripathi got up from his chair, took out his shoe and launched an all-out attack on Mr Baghel, hitting him several times with his shoe on the head. The MLA also retaliated, slapping the MP as the official meeting at the collector’s office plunged into chaos.
They were finally separated by police officers while the lawmakers continued to hurl abuses at each other.
Mr Baghel, along with his supporters, later protested outside the office of the District Magistrate demanding Mr Tripathi’s arrest.
The state head of the Bharatiya Janata Party said the party would take action against the lawmakers. Mr Tripathi later told news agency ANI that he regretted the incident.
