Gujarat: Congress, BJP trade barbs over time allotment

Congress leaders created a ruckus in the House of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) after it was adjourned for a day.

Congress members were protesting the 'autocracy of the ruling party' and demanding to run the House in a 'democratic way'. The protest erupted after only a limited time was permitted to express views over budget allocations.

The BJP leaders, however, also shouted slogans against Congress. Both parties exchanged barbs and slogans against each other.

Talking to the media, mayor Bijal Patel, said, "This ruckus is meaningless. They were given time to speak, but they wanted to create chaos as they don't have anything to discuss. We had informed them in advance regarding time allotment, and the Leader of Opposition had accepted it."

On the other hand, Dinesh Sharma, Leader of Opposition denied any such communication with the mayor. "The Mayor had asked for a list of people who were going to be present their speech. We shared the same with him. There was no discussion regarding the time allotment. We want to have a healthy discussion because of which I had written to them earlier and requested to have a five-day Budget board. The Mayor is lying. She never talked about a specific time," said Sharma.