The ruling BJP in Gujarat demanded action against two Congress MLAs who took off their shirts outside the entry gate of the state legislative Assembly on Friday as part of a protest over the issue of inadequate power supply to farmers. Claiming that the BJP government had failed to provide adequate electricity to farmers, at least 15 Congress MLAs sat in protest near the main entry gate of the Assembly building for about 10 minutes, during which legislators Vimal Chudasama and Lalit Vasoya removed their shirts.
The treasury bench raised an objection in the Assembly after Question Hour, following which Speaker Nimaben Acharya said she will give her verdict in the coming days after going through the video clips of the said incident which took place moments before the House met at 10 am. Speaking to reporters, Chudasama said, ”While the BJP government makes tall claims that farmers are getting enough electricity, it is a fact that most of the farmers in Gujarat are not getting adequate electricity for irrigation purposes. In the absence of irrigation, standing crops, including coconut trees, are dying. We are protesting here to draw the government’s attention over this crucial issue.” After Question Hour, chief whip Pankaj Desai raised an objection about the ”shirtless” protest by Chudasama and Vasoya, claiming that no such protest is allowed as per the rules in the vicinity of the Assembly.
Desai further urged the Speaker to take necessary action and reprimand the Opposition party for such a protest. Backing Desai’s demand, Education Minister Jitu Vaghani said Congress MLAs should have refrained from removing their clothes in front of women police personnel, MLAs and government officers who enter the complex from that gate.
In their defence, Congress MLA Amit Chavda claimed that the BJP had used the Assembly complex for its own political purpose in the past. ”Congress MLAs had protested because farmers are not getting electricity for farming. This Assembly complex was used by the ruling BJP in the past for its political purposes. Election-related speeches were also delivered after gathering people in this complex,” Chavda said, claiming that such events were conducted here by the BJP everyday.
BJP MLA Pradeepsinh Jadeja took a strong objection to the Congress’ protest saying if action is not taken against these MLAs now, ”they will stage a similar protest inside the House in the future”.
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