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Congress MP Imran Masood and Samajwadi Party MLA Ashu Malik on Wednesday played down a reported heated exchange between them during a District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DISHA) meeting in Saharanpur, with Masood saying there was "no altercation" and Malik calling the incident "not a big deal."
The exchange reportedly took place over the issue of drain construction during the meeting chaired by Imran Masood. Senior district officials, SP MP Iqra Hasan and other MLAs were also present at the meeting. Speaking to ANI, Malik said the meeting was meant to discuss public issues and that he was raising matters related to his constituency. "Yesterday, a DISHA meeting was being held at the Saharanpur Development Building, in which all the officials were present. It was not a rally where speeches were being made. We were putting forward our issues, and 80 per cent of the issues were ours. We do not need anyone's permission for this," Malik said. Malik also played down the reported exchange with Masood, saying such incidents can happen between political leaders. "There is no such dispute or altercation between us. Such things happen between two leaders during meetings or rallies; it is not a big deal. But we do not leave without raising the issues that concern the people," the SP MLA said. He said he was referring to the rules to ensure that the meeting was conducted smoothly and maintained that he would continue to raise issues concerning the public. "We know our work well, and we were referring to the rules and saying that the meeting should be conducted smoothly. But if someone thinks that we should not raise the issues of the people, that will not happen. We will continue to raise the people's issues," he said. Meanwhile, Masood, who chaired the meeting, denied that any altercation took place and said he had only ensured that everyone was given an opportunity to speak. "There was no altercation. I was chairing the meeting, so I gave everyone an opportunity to speak. I gave Ashu Malik a lot of time to speak as well," Masood said. He said the meeting lasted four hours and 15 minutes and that all issues were discussed during the meeting. "The meeting continued for four hours and 15 minutes. I specifically asked Ashu Malik to speak and gave him considerable time," the Congress MP said. (ANI)
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