Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will be in Mumbai on January 15 and 16.
Two state Congress leaders almost came to blows today while drawing up the itinerary for Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's coming visit to Mumbai, sources told NDTV.
On Monday, Mr Gandhi announced on Twitter that he would be in the financial capital for two days -- January 15 and 16.
This afternoon, during a meeting at the party headquarters to finalise his schedule, Congress lawmakers Aslam Shaikh and Naseem Khan got into a heated argument which soon turned into a scuffle, sources said.
Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam had to step in and ask the two leaders to calm down.
The incident is a fallout of factionalism in the party, sources said. Aslam Shaikh belongs to the Sanjay Nirupam camp and Naseem Khan to the rival Gurudas Kamat camp.
Last month, the party was left red faced when Congress Darshan, the party mouthpiece, had carried articles that criticised party chief Sonia Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Ever since, members of opposite camps have been waiting to get even with each other.
Officially, the Congress denied the incident. Senior leader Charan Singh Sapra told NDTV that the media had been "misinformed".
"Some leaders wanted to express their opinion and did it a bit aggressively. The Mumbai Congress President calmed tempers and said everyone's view will be taken into consideration," he said.
"Due to Rahulji's leadership, many party workers are now excited to fight this government and its policies. We are doing just that and sometimes this excitement is manifest in the workers," Sapra added.
Denying the incident, Aslam Shaikh told reporters, "Rahul Gandhi is coming and all the party members are preparing to welcome him."