Gandhinagar: Uproar erupted in the Gujarat assembly on Tuesday after Congress MLAs demanded an immediate discussion on panic buying of petrol and diesel reported in several parts of the state since Monday.Speaker Shankar Chaudhary rejected a notice moved by Congress MLA Amit Chavda under Rule 108 of the Gujarat Assembly Rules, saying he had already admitted the matter for discussion under Rule 116 on Wednesday. “It is necessary to discuss the issue today. Despite the govt having given assurances that there was no shortage of petrol and diesel, long queues were still seen at fuel stations. People do not seem to believe the govt,” Chavda said. Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi joined the discussion, saying there was a conspiracy to spread false and misleading information. “There has been a conspiracy to spread false information that there was a fuel shortage. Not a single citizen has been denied petrol or diesel. The Congress’ main grievance is not about fuel, but (introduction of) the Uniform Civil Code bill,” Sanghavi said.State forests and environment minister Arjun Modhwadia said that the Congress was raising the issue of panic buying because it did not want to participate in the discussion on the UCC bill. “If you wish to leave the House, you are free to do so,” he said. Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar objected to ministers making statements on panic buying after the Speaker had disallowed Chavda’s request for a discussion on the matter.
