Ruckus in Gujarat Assembly as BJP, Congress MLAs exchange blows

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New Delhi: Deliberation and debate are two key aspects of democracy but both were haplessly missing from the Gujarat Assembly on Wednesday when BJP and Congress MLAs exchanged punches in yet another sorry example of Indian politics.

The MLAs in Gujarat assembly displayed their barbaric side when Congress legislators interrupted a speech being made by Agriculture Minister R C Faldu. Tempers flared quickly but just when it appeared that it would remain a verbal confrontation, a Congress MLA - Pratap Dudhat and BJP's Jagdish Paanchal got engaged in a fist fight. The two reportexchangedanged several blows even as fellow legislators attempted to calm the two. War of words between legislators though continued unabated and Congress MLAs even entered the well and vowed to not let normal work process resume. They were eventually taken out by marshals.

Both Dudhat and Paanchal were subsequently suspended.

The incident closely follows similar scenes in the Telangana Assembly where a Congress lawmaker Komatireddy Venkat Reddy threw a mike which struck and injured Swamy Goud, chairman of the Legislative Council in Telangana.