PATNA: The Bihar legislature premises here witnessed an unseemly sight on Tuesday when two MLAs of rival political groups engaged in a nasty verbal exchange and virtually came to blows.
BJP MLA Sanjay Saraogi and RJD legislator Bhai Virendra were brought face to face by television journalists to offer their respective takes on some issue, a common practice whenever the House is in session.
Differences of opinion soon led to frayed tempers that gave a lie to the camaraderie, which is often seen among the political class of Bihar.
In the heat of the moment, Saraogi addressed Bhai Virendra as "tum", the Hindi pronoun usually reserved for equals or juniors.
The RJD MLA, who is senior to Saraogi by many years, blew the fuse and roared, "How dare you speak to me like that".
A red-faced Saraogi tried to hold his ground with the retort "you people have looted the state for years" - an allusion to the RJD's 15 years in power.
Bhai Virendra then hurled some vile abuses at the BJP MLA, whom he also threatened to bash up ('patak kar maarenge').
The matter was resolved after the legislators were pulled away by scribes.
State BJP spokesman and national general secretary of OBC Morcha Nikhil Anand issued a strongly worded statement in protest against the RJD MLA's behavior.
"Bhai Virendra used cuss words and his repeated utterance of the term 'milavati' (adulterated) was a disgusting allusion to Saraogi belonging to the trading class and Vaishya caste," said Anand, who had contested against the RJD MLA in Maner last year, but lost.
"Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav must apologise for the shameful conduct of the MLA belonging to his party," he added.