VMC passes budget

Minutes before the passing of the budget, the Board witnessed high drama with all members of the Opposition staging a walk-out over Mayor Bharti Vyas’ refusal to adjourn the session even as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor Khodabhai Bharwad fainted in the House.

As the day’s deliberations proceeded, a visibly agitated BJP councillor from Ward No 19 Bharwad got up to voice his discontent with the lack of attention given to slum areas that, he claimed, constituted 85 per cent of his ward, the former was asked to “hold back his grievances for a later date” by both Vyas and Deputy Mayor Dinesh Choksi. The almost reprimanding direction of the latter two seemed to have further perturbed the councillor who instantly lost his consciousness and collapsed.

BJP councillor and medical practitioner Jigeesha Sheth immediately got down to reviving Bharwad who reportedly fainted due to low-blood pressure. Meanwhile, Opposition members Dalsukh Prajapati, Chirag Zaveri, Chandrakant Shrivastava, Shailesh Mehta and others urged the Mayor to adjourn the session in view of Bharwad’s ill-health. However, with the chair not relenting, the Opposition immediately staged a walk-out.

While Choksi took the chair as Vyas left the House to attend to Bharwad, the session continued minus the Opposition as the BJP councillors themselves provided the majority required for the quorum. The budget was shortly passed following the nod by about 30 councillors present in the House.