Blows, slaps, kicks mark Jaipur civic body meet

All hell broke loose in the general body meeting of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation on Friday — held after seven months — as fisticuffs and blows were exchanged between councillors of the ruling BJP and the Congress.

The reason behind the corporation meet turning into a battlefield was a comment on a Jaipur MP by the Congress. Congress councillor Umardaraj raised the issue of BJP MP Ramcharan Bohra being named in an FIR related to encroachment on government land. BJP councillors raised an objection to the mention of the MP and a verbal spat ensued. Soon, the altercation escalated into a fist fight as the councillors of both parties began hitting each other. Slaps, blows, and even kicks followed, verbal abuses aside.

There was also an uproar when the Congress raised placards with slogans against the Mayor. The placards read: "Mayor madam ka pyara hai, loktantra ka hatyara hai". The placard was referring to CM Vasundhara Raje as "madam".

The pandemonium prompted Mayor Ashok Lahoti to suspended all proceedings twice, once for 10 minutes, then for an hour. Work resumed only after Congress councillor Umardaraj apologised.

The agenda of Friday's meet included door-to-door waste collection and the issue of stray animals. Councillors discussed the waste collection project with JMC officials in a meet that lasted almost seven hours.