KALYAN: The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) General Body meeting on Thursday witnessed high drama as opposition corporators staged a protest against the alleged police action against students demonstrating at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.Corporators from the opposition, including the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP), entered the House carrying the Tricolour and wearing black armbands as a mark of protest. Raising slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram”, they demanded that the House be adjourned to condemn the police action and express solidarity with the injured protesters.As soon as the proceedings began, opposition members stood up, shouted slogans and disrupted the House, forcing Mayor Harshali Chaudhary to adjourn the meeting for 10 minutes.However, after the House reconvened, the opposition continued its protest, condemning what it termed police brutality at Jantar Mantar and urging corporators from the ruling alliance to join them.The protest also witnessed an unusual political alignment, with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), a ruling ally of the Shiv Sena in the KDMC, joining hands with the Shiv Sena (UBT) during the demonstration. The BJP took a swipe at the MNS, saying that if MNS corporators wished to sit with the opposition, they should first resign from the ruling alliance and formally move to the opposition benches.Differences within the ruling alliance also came to the fore during the debate. Shiv Sena corporator Mahesh Gaikwad demanded that the House observe a two-minute silence in memory of the students who were allegedly injured in the police action. BJP group leader Shashikant Kamble objected, stating that several police personnel were also injured during the Jantar Mantar protest and that, if a condolence gesture was to be made, it should include them as well.Despite the noisy scenes and repeated slogan-shouting, the General Body meeting continued. Later, leaders of the Shiv Sena and BJP jointly cleared several civic proposals without detailed discussion, while a few agenda items were deferred for consideration at a later meeting.
