Bullock-cart collapses during Mumbai Cong's protest, BJP guffaws

Mumbai, July 10 There were red faces in the Mumbai Congress after a bullock-cart protest abruptly ended when the overloaded cart broke down during a rally to protest against rising petrol-diesel prices, leading to swipes from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), here on Saturday.

The incident happened at Bharani Naka in the Antop Hill area when the protesters led by Mumbai Congress President Bhai Jagtap and other leaders were raising full-throated slogans slamming the BJP government at the Centre over the runaway fuel prices.

According to eyewitnesses, around a dozen-odd heavyweight party leaders were standing on the bullock cart which suddenly gave away and collapsed, creating huge confusion amid the loud sloganeering.

The Congress activists could be seen trying to help their leaders who practically fell into a heap as the cart could not bear their collective weight and gave away without a warning.

Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries to any of the leaders or party workers, and even the bullocks remained under control. However, the protest was quickly terminated after the mini-debacle.

As photos and video clips of the incident went viral, the opposition BJP took a swipe at the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in which Congress is one of the constituents along with the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party.

In a terse tweet tagging Jagpat and others, state BJP Chief Spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said: "Maintain your balance, Bhai Jagtap. While providing an unstable government, the MVA's balance is gone. If the bullocks were to dissociate themselves from the cart, then even the government will collapse. Before the crash, you better decide which of the two bullocks should be tied back to the cart."

Saturday's protest was part of the 10-day-long sustained agitation which started on July 7, with signature campaigns at fuel stations, rallies in cities and towns, and bicycle or bullock-cart processions being taken out all over Maharashtra.

The petrol prices in Mumbai have crossed Rs 106/litre whereas diesel has zoomed past the Rs 97/litre-mark, ranking among the highest in the country, with a cascading effect on various sectors of the economy, leading to an outcry from different sections of the society.