Gujarat Confidential: ‘Silence’ sparks AAP fury

Vadodara Mayor Pinky Soni has been at the receiving end for her recent “silence” over questions pertaining to the Vishwamitri River Project, a flood mitigation initiative, after a video of her unresponsive media interaction went viral last week. On Monday, Aam Aadmi Party’s Vadodara unit vandalised the VMC building outside her cabin while she was away in Kerala launching the VMC’s Green Bond book. The AAP unit blackened the door and name plate of the Mayor’s cabin before ripping off the nameplate and throwing it away. Stating that the Mayor had “failed in her duty to provide amenities” to the city, AAP leaders stomped on the nameplate. The AAP unit said that several parts of the city had been left with potholes on the roads as well as “deliberately opened pits” along the road by the VMC during the monsoon, causing “inconvenience and posing a threat” to the citizens. The unit also stated that several parts of the city were reeling under water crisis. Last week, a group of citizens also met Soni in her cabin and demanded her resignation in “the interest of the city”. Soni had remained silent during the interaction.