Horse, donkey cart rallies mark fuel hike protest

Rajkot: The issue of rising fuel prices led to ruckus during the general board meeting of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) with both the ruling BJP and opposition Congress engaging in a war of words.
The statutory meeting which was held at the RMC Pramukh Swami Auditorium to maintain safe distancing among members ended within 30 minutes with no business being transacted or issues on agenda being discussed.
The Congress leaders, who had been protesting of rising prices of petrol and diesel, arrived for the board meeting on horses and bicycles. Several of the Congress members were detained from the auditorium premises for protesting over fuel prices. As soon as the meeting started there was an uproar by the Congress members who objected to detention of their colleagues from the house premises.
Adding fuel to fire, the Congress corporator from ward 16, Sneha Dave, who has been advised bed rest due to injury in the spine was not allowed to mark her presence. As per rule, any members who do not attend three general board meetings get disqualified. Dave could not attend the previous two meetings because of her hospitalisation, hence she had come in an ambulance to mark her presence.
Leader of opposition in RMC Vashram Sagathiya requested the mayor to register Dave’s presence by allowing her to sign the attendance register outside the hall as she was on a stretcher. But BJP corporator Kashyap Shukla opposed the proposal saying it was against the BPMC Act. The mayor ruled that she be taken into the meeting room on a stretcher.
Deputy leader of opposition Mansukh Kalaria said “This is inhumane behaviour of the ruling BJP.”
The Congress members held sit-in protest inside the hall and had to be carried out by police and marshals before the meeting ended without any discussion on the listed agenda.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day police detained 57 Congress workers for protesting against the fuel prices in different parts of Rajkot city. The party worker took out processions on horses and bicycles in all 18 wards of the city on Monday.
Randeepsinh Jadeja, a Congress worker also had a heated argument with police when the latter used force to detain him. The video of the incident went viral on social media.