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A ruckus broke out when Chhava Sanghatna activists confronted Maharashtra NCP chief Sunil Tatkare and threw playing cards in front of him during a press conference in Latur
A clash between workers of Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Chhava Sanghatna activists in Maharashtra’s Latur on July 20. (Image: @RRPSpeaks/X)
Workers of Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Chhava Sanghatna activists came to blows on Sunday over a video of Maharashtra agriculture minister purportedly playing a game of rummy on his mobile phone during the recently concluded monsoon session of the state legislature.
The ruckus broke out after activists of the Chhava Sanghatna confronted Sunil Tatkare, who is the president of the Maharashtra unit of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. They threw playing cards in front of him during his press conference in Latur.
The video of the clash was shared by NCP(SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, who is the nephew of the Ajit Pawar and grandnephew of Sharad Pawar. He called out his uncle’s NCP faction for their aggression because “public outrage was bound to erupt” over the state’s agriculture minister playing cards in the assembly while farmers are in “immense distress”.
राज्यातला शेतकरी प्रचंड संकटात असताना राज्याचे कृषिमंत्री सभागृहात रमीचे पत्ते फेकत असतील तर जनतेत संतापाचा आगडोंब उसळणारच आहे.या विषयावर लातूर येथे #छावा संघटनेच्या कार्यकर्त्यांनी तटकरे साहेबांना निवेदन देत असताना झालेला वाद दुर्दैवी आहे. तटकरे साहेबांवर अशा प्रकारे पत्ते… pic.twitter.com/GGjI7eBVw9— Rohit Pawar (@RRPSpeaks) July 20, 2025
“While farmers in the state are in immense distress, if the state’s agriculture minister is throwing rummy cards in the assembly, public outrage is bound to erupt. The controversy that arose while Chhava organization activists were presenting a memorandum to Tatkare Saheb in Latur on this issue is unfortunate. Throwing cards at Tatkare Saheb in this manner is indeed wrong, but the subsequent assault on the Chhava organization activists is even more wrong. Are the ruling authorities trying to send a message that if people raise questions, we will beat them, attack them, and crush the opposition?” Pawar said in a post on X.
The Chhava Sanghatna was protesting against state agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate after a video showing him purportedly playing a game of rummy on his mobile phone during the recently concluded monsoon session of the state legislature went viral.
After Rohit Pawar shared Kokate’s video clip, the minister clarified that he was merely skipping a downloaded game that flashed on the screen of his mobile phone in the legislative council.
Television channels show Chhava Sanghatna leader Vijay Ghatge confronting Tatkare and hurling a deck of playing cards on his table while demanding Kokate’s resignation. After a while, NCP activists rained blows and kicks on Ghatge and others before the police intervened and separated them.
NCP Youth wing president Suraj Chavan, who was involved in the attack, alleged that the incident was triggered by Ghatge and other office-bearers using abusive language against his party’s leaders.
“We lost our cool and took the extreme step. Just because we are in power doesn’t mean we are doing anything wrong,” Chavan told reporters. “They could have demonstrated in a Constitutional manner”.
Chhava Sanghatna works for the conservation of forts and organises various religious and cultural festivals.
Reacting to the incident, NCP (SP) leader Rohini Khadse said such violence is unprecedented in a progressive state like Maharashtra, while the party’s national spokesperson Clyde Crasto alleged that Maharashtra, under the BJP rule, is turning into an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) arena.
“It’s now impossible to imagine what one will witness in Maharashtra. After Sunil Tatkare’s press conference concluded at a rest house in Latur, activists of the All India Chhava Organisation arrived and questioned Tatkare regarding the actions of the Agriculture Minister… Ajitdada’s workers brutally beat up Chhava Sanghatna’s workers. Such incidents were never seen in Maharashtra in the past. Tomorrow, people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar might say that they don’t want a situation like Maharashtra in their states,” Khadse said.
Crasto referred to incidents involving Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, who had assaulted a canteen staffer at an MLA Hostel in Mumbai, and the attack on an NCP (SP) worker by supporters of BJP legislator Gopichand Padalkar in the lobby of Vidhan Bhavan building.
“These goons have no fear of the law because all of them are connected to the BJP government, and it appears that they are given a free hand… CM Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Home Minister, needs to give some serious answers. Has he lost control over his department? Or do the goons connected to the BJP think that they can take the law into their hands because the BJP is in power? People of Maharashtra now need answers,” Crasto said.
(With PTI inputs)
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The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
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Latur, India, India
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