Cops crack down on
Congress rally
At
least a dozen Congress workers and the photographer of a vernacular
daily were injured when the police lathicharged a rally organised by
Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) at Income-Tax Circle yesterday.
The police, however, have denied the charge and claim there was no lathicharge
on the demonstration.
The Congress workers were
protesting against assaults on Christians in the country. The party
has accused the police of resorting to lathicharge despite the fact
that the rally was a peaceful affair. Corroborating the Congress account,
eye-witnesses have said at least a dozen Congressmen were injured in
the unprovoked lathicharge and even the photographer of a local daily
was not spared.
Condemning the police action,
GPCC president CD Patel said this was a "Government run by police and
goons." He also said that the BJP-ruled State Government had failed
to protect minorities and that the law and order situation had deteriorated.
He accused the Government of "shamelessly indulging in corruption."
Claiming that the State Government had failed on all fronts, he accused
it of "miserably failing" to handle the severe drought in the State.
Coming down heavily on the Union Government he said the BJP was ruling
under the shadow of religion and it was time it was removed as under
its inept handling the situation in Kashmir had worsened. Besides Patel,
senior GPCC members like Hasmukh Patel, Kadir Pirzada, Sagar Raika,
Daulat Parmar, Irshad Mirza, Girish Parmar, Shantaben Chavda. Motibhai
Chavda, Himmatsinh Patel, and Jagrupsinh Rajputparticipated in the dharna.
Meanwhile, the GPCC has
accused the elected wings of BJP-ruled six municipal corporations of
recklessly passing tenders even though their term ends on June 30. A
GPCC delegation, led by Congress State unit president C D Patel, handed
over a memorandum to Governor Sunder Singh Bhandari, urging him to ask
municipal commissioners of six municipal corporations not to float tenders
or sanction policy-related decisions.
The GPCC said in a press-note
that in BJP-ruled Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), tenders worth
Rs 23 crore were passed without following proper procedure. Usually,
no important decisions are taken when the term of the elected wing comes
to an end. However, in BJP-ruled municipal corporations, municipal commissioners
are forced agree to the elected wing’s decisions.
The memorandum also mentioned
the State Government’s inept handling of the drought situation and rising
prices of diesel, kerosene and groundnut oil.
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