Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Assembly on Monday witnessed a novel mode of protest as an opposition legislator pedalled a bicycle to reach the House complex against the state government's stand not to forgo tax on petrol and diesel on the lines of the Centre. When senior Congress leader and Kovalam legislator M. Vincent rode a bicycle alone to the sprawling Assembly campus, it was a matter of amusement for passers-by and the staff at the House.
He chose the innovative protest method to express solidarity with the Congress party's state-wide 'stop wheel' agitation against the state government over the fuel prices. Clad in the usual pristine white khadi dhoti and shirt, the two-time MLA was followed by a galaxy of TV cameramen when he entered the campus on the bicycle, which is generally regarded as the poor man's vehicle.
Though it is rare for anyone to reach the Assembly complex on a bicycle, the MLA had a smooth entry at the main entrance, where security personnel welcomed him with the usual honorary salute. The MLA later parked his "vehicle" in the parking yard near a luxury four-wheeler.
Also Read: Kerala not to reduce fuel prices; Cong, BJP warn of protest
"The state government was looting the common people without reducing the tax on petrol and diesel", Vincent told reporters.
Meanwhile, workers of the Congress party staged the 15-minute stop wheel protests in the district headquarters across the state in the morning.
KPCC chief K. Sudhakaran had earlier made it clear that the protest would be in such a manner that no traffic blocks would be created and no difficulty would be posed for the common people.
PTI
