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MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati Douses Himself in Petrol at Barmer Collectorate
Shiv MLA Ravindra Bhati poured petrol on himself at Barmer Collectorate amid a 38-day Giral mines workers' protest.
Barmer, Rajasthan: A dramatic confrontation unfolded at the Barmer Collectorate on Tuesday when Ravindra Singh Bhati, the sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Shiv constituency, poured petrol on himself in a shocking act of protest, triggering chaos inside the district headquarters and forcing senior administration officials to intervene immediately.
The incident marked a dangerous escalation in an ongoing labour agitation at the Giral Lignite Mines, located in the Barmer district of Rajasthan. Local workers at the mines have been staging a sit-in protest for 38 consecutive days, demanding resolution of multiple pending grievances related to employment, wages, and working conditions. MLA Bhati had joined the protesters in solidarity 14 days prior and had been sitting in the scorching summer heat alongside the striking workers.
"Workers are the backbone of any state and any system. Their demands must be heard with seriousness and sensitivity. Despite 38 days of peaceful protest and 14 days of my sitting alongside them in this heat, the administration has taken no positive steps," Bhati told reporters at the scene, directly blaming both the district administration and the state government for what he called a failure of democratic responsibility.
Earlier in the day, a large workers' assembly — described locally as a mahapanchayat — was held at Giral village. The gathering drew labourers, representatives of various trade unions, farmers' bodies, and youth organisations from across the state. Following the assembly, a convoy of several hundred vehicles ferried thousands of protesters to the Barmer district headquarters, where demonstrators surrounded the collectorate building while raising slogans and carrying banners.
