Unperturbed by the suspension of its members for the rest of the budget session, the opposition Congress, organised a mock assembly on Thursday afternoon. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and assembly speaker Ganpat Vasava were among the people ridiculed at the assembly.
Congress MLAs and leaders sat on the treasury benches wearing masks of chief minister Narendra Modi, finance minister Vaju Vala and revenue minister Anandi Patel. During the mock session, the speaker was shown frequently asking for the chief minister’s permission and advice before making any decision.
“The House will function as the CM desires. The replies will also be based on the chief minister’s instructions. You better toe the line, or else you will also be suspended,” a Congress leader, posing as the speaker, told the opposition members in the mock assembly. This comes in the wake of allegations by the opposition Congress that the chief minister was influencing the speaker’s decisions.
The audience in the mock assembly frequently burst into laughter as the Congress party mocked the CM for his strict style of functioning, the round-the-clock security ring around him, and even his fetish for fasts. They also mocked the BJP’s fund collection drive saying it amounted to extortion.
The opposition also took a dig at the CM over the issue of rising cases of missing children in the assembly.
“More than 16,000 children have gone missing in the last four years in the state. There is panic situation in Ahmedabad, but chief minister is busy with various celebrations,” the opposition claimed in the session. Later, a group of youngsters got their heads tonsured near the Gandhi statue in the assembly complex. They reached Gandhinagar cycling all the way from Bhavnagar in protest of opposition’s suspension from the House.
