A case has been registered against Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh and 150 Congress workers for taking out a cycle rally on Wednesday against fuel price hike by disobeying prohibitory orders and being negligent, the Bhopal police said.
Heeding a call of State Congress president Kamal Nath for a State-wide protest, Mr. Singh and the workers began pedalling towards Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s residence from Roshanpura square, only to be stopped midway by the police.
“The workers didn’t take permission for the rally during the lockdown,” said a policeman at the T.T. Nagar police station. Bhopal South Superintendent of Police Sai Krishna Thota said, “We are identifying others through the CCTV footage.”
The case has been registered under sections 341 [Punishment for wrongful restraint], 188 [Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant], 143 [Unlawful assembly], 269 [Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life] and 270 [Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life] of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
“If an FIR is registered against me for raising people’s demand, then I welcome it,” Mr. Singh, a former Chief Minister, wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “Today again prices of diesel and petrol have been raised. Who is benefiting from increasing petrol-diesel prices? Petrol pump owners, petroleum production companies and the Central government.”
Under the normal course, he added, when petrol, diesel prices are hiked, common consumers were given older stock at older prices. “But I want to ask if consumers are even benefiting this much? Is this being followed? As per my knowledge, it is not.”
Mr. Nath said on Wednesday, “In the whole of the country, petrol is the costliest in Madhya Pradesh. First time in the Indian history, diesel is more expensive than petrol in Delhi. For the 18th day, the price of diesel had been raised. A continuous blow of inflation on the public.’
Hitting back at the Congress, BJP State media in charge Lokendra Parashar said, “The president of the State Congress remained missing from the cycle rally. The cycle got punctured just after moving. The entire team Kamal Nath boycotted it.”
