Two senior leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray group’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut, engaged in a war of words on Saturday, a day after Raut “spat” on the ground while talking to media persons.

Raut reportedly spat on the ground during a press conference on Friday when he was asked about chief minister Eknath Shinde’s son, Lok Sabha member Shrikant Shinde‘s jibe targeting Uddhav Thackeray.

“Everyone should keep a decorum while speaking in politics,” said Pawar.

Raut reacted angrily and referred to Pawar’s remarks made a decade ago when the NCP minister had said in response to a person seeking water for his fields in his village that “should he go and pee in the dam” so that the farmer could get water for his village.

“Spitting is better than urinating in a dam. It’s good to give advice, but we are the ones who are suffering and even then we have not betrayed our party – we are standing with our party. Even though we face problems we have not brought up in our minds the need to join hands with the BJP,” Raut said, in an apparent rebuke to Pawar referring to his outreach to the BJP.

Pawar refused to take issue with Raut, saying Raut’s criticism does not affect him. However, people close to the NCP leadership said Pawar has been smarting over Raut repeatedly taking potshots at him.