News Analysis India

Tag: Madhya Pradesh Assembly

  • MP Assembly publishes booklet for MLAs on avoiding unparliamentary language including the word ‘Pappu’

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Henceforth, when an MLA stands up in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly to talk on anything, he or she can easily refer to a booklet, which mentions words, phrases or sentences that are best avoided during the proceedings of the House as such utterances can get expunged.

    On the eve of the four-day long monsoon session, the state Assembly on Sunday released this 38-page booklet, which lists out a number of unparliamentary words, phrases and sentences – mostly in Hindi. The collection carries a total of 1,161 words and sentences that were expunged from the records of the Vidhan Sabha since 1954. As per the list, the members are not supposed to use terms like “Pappu” and “Mr Bantadhar”.

    BJP supporters are known to use the term “Pappu” to ridicule Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, while “Mr Bantadhar” (spoilsport) is a term used by them for veteran Congressman and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh. Besides that, it lists out several words like dhongi (hypocrite), nikamma (worthless), chor (thief), bhrasht (corrupt), Tanashah (dictator), gunde (goons) and phrases like jhooth bolna (to lie), vyabhichar karna (to induge in adultery). It also mentions the word ‘sasur’ (father-in-law), which was used in the House on September 9, 1954 and was expunged from the records.

    The booklet specifies words and sentences that were expunged in the Assembly from 1954 to 2021, barring the period between 1990 and 2014. It was released at the Vidhan Sabha Bhavan on Sunday by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state Congress chief Kamal Nath, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra and Assembly Speaker Girish Gautam. “The booklet will be given to the Assembly members on Monday, before the session begins so that they know which terms should be avoided in the House,” an Assembly official said.

    Speaking on the occasion, Chouhan recalled the high standard of debates in Parliament and the state Assemblies, and said, “Many a time it happened that the person speaking in these Houses in a flow forgets about not using specific unparliamentary words.” He praised the Assembly for bringing out this book, saying that it would help the members in understanding the issue in a better way.

    The chief minister also said that once a group of students, who came to visit the Vidhan Sabha, had told him after watching the proceedings of the House that they the noisy scenes made them feel as if they were standing in a fish market. Kamal Nath said that both Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha are considered as temples of democracy. “Why such a need has arisen at all that a book on unparliamentary words and sentences was released?” he asked.

    Speaker Girish Gautam said that all those words or sentences that were expunged since the beginning were included in the publication for the knowledge of the members. “The facility of retakes in life is available to actors, and not to leaders,” he said, and advised them to speak carefully on public forums. Gautam said that the decision to bring out this book will be justified the day the speaker does not have to expunge any word or sentences during the proceedings of the House.

    A P Singh, state Assembly’s principal secretary, said that the records between 1990 to 2014 were not available for some reasons and therefore, it was not included in this publication. “It will be incorporated in the second edition of the publication whenever it will be released,” he added. Between 1993 and 2003, the Congress was in power in Madhya Pradesh, while from 2003 to 2018, the BJP ruled the state. 

  • MP Assembly session may be curtailed after five MLAs contract COVID

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: With five MLAs contracting coronavirus infection, the ongoing Budget session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly may be cut short this week, an official said.

    The session started on February 22 and was scheduled to end on March 26.

    Five legislators and four marshals have contracted COVID-19 since the session started and there is growing concern among members, said an official of the Assembly secretariat.

    Therefore the session might conclude this week after transacting the scheduled business, he said.

    Earlier in the day, as soon as the proceedings started, Legislative Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra rose and informed that five members of the House have contracted the virus so far.

    Coronavirus cases have increased after a lull, the minister said.

    Senior Congress leader Govind Singh said he had a discussion with Leader of Opposition Kamal Nath on the issue.

    Speaker Girish Gautam said he talked to the MLAs who tested positive.

    “I request the members again to undergo tests,” he said.

  • Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021 passed in Assembly

    Express News Service
    BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Monday passed the ‘anti-Love Jihad’ Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021.

    The Bill had been approved earlier in December 2020 by the state Cabinet in a special meeting chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

    After BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh becomes the third state to pass the law.

    The passed legislation has the provision of up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh as punishment for religious conversion through coercion, force, allurement and fraudulent means and misrepresentation, including marriages solemnized through fraudulent means.

    The state’s home minister Narottam Mishra, while replying to the debate before passing of the Bill by voice vote informed that a total of 23 cases were lodged under the law which was first cleared as an Ordinance in January 2021.

    While the Narendra Modi-led central government had last year informed the Parliament that no cases of ‘Love Jihad’ were reported by any central agency, the state’s home minister said, “hum love ke khilaf nahin hain, hum Jihad ke khilaf hain. (We are not against Love, but are against Jihad).

    Mishra added, “We are vehemently against all such love which hurts our sentiments and leaves our sisters and daughters in agony”. 

    Opposing the Bill, former parliamentary affairs minister and senior Congress MLA Dr Govind Singh said there was no need for any such Bill, as existing laws, including the Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code have sufficient provisions against forced and fraudulent religious conversions. “This Bill was passed in MP after the passage of bills on similar lines by UP and Uttarakhand, to ensure that our home minister can win plaudits from union home minister Amit Shah”.

    The Congress veteran further alleged that the Bill also violates the spirit of Articles 21 and 25 of the Indian Constitution which guarantee individuals personal freedom and also freedom of choosing the religion at one’s own will.”

    The state Assembly’s former Deputy Speaker and Congress MLA from Lanji (Balaghat) Heena Kanware also questioned the need for such a Bill, when the MP Freedom of Religion Act 1968 already existed. “Has any survey been conducted in the state for understanding the need for such a Bill”.

  • Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan defends references to PM Modi in Governor’s address

    By PTI

    BHOPAL: Two days after the leader of opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Kamal Nath claimed Governor Anandiben Patel’s customary address on the opening day of the budget session had 10 references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday hit back claiming taking the PM’s name was a matter of pride.

    The governor had addressed the House on Monday and Chouhan was replying during the motion of thanks.

    Chouhan said that Modi was a leader with a global stature and said his leadership galvanized people from all walks of life to fight against the coronavirus outbreak. Under the leadership of the PM, the country had grown tall globally by rolling out vaccines to several nations.

    On the opposition’s remark that why the Centre was not being able to find a solution to the farm protests near Delhi if Modi’s name was such an adored one, Chouhan said farmers were not dissatisfied in others parts of the country.

  • Madhya Pradesh MLAs flout COVID rules in Assembly premises

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: A day after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered compliance with mandatory use of face masks in Indore and Bhopal amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, many lawmakers were seen flouting the directive in the Assembly premises.

    The violators included BJP MLAs Usha Thakur, Ramesh Mendola, Yashpal Singh Sisodiya and former health minister Ajay Vishnoi and Congress legislators Sunil Saraf, Siddharth Kushwah and Alok Chaturvedi. When questioned, the legislators made various excuses.

    (From left) KP Singh, Rambai Thakur, Narottam Mishra

    Usha Thakur, who is the minister of state for tourism and culture, said, “I regularly do yoga and blow conch.  So, there is less possibility of me being infected. I use my dupatta to cover my face when needed.”

    BSP’s Rambai Thakur claimed she feels uneasy and nauseous on wearing mask while Kushwah claimed, “I’ve already had Covid-19 in the recent past, so I’ll not get infected again. Still, if you want to make it an issue, you’re free to do so.”

  • Fuel price rise: Congress MLAs ride bicycles to MP Assembly complex

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: Legislators of the opposition Congress on Monday reached the Madhya Pradesh Assembly complex here on bicycles as a mark of protest against the rise in fuel prices.

    The budget session of the state Assembly began on Monday.

    Congress MLAs P C Sharma, Jitu Patwari, Kunal Choudhary, Shashank Bhargava and Arif Masood rode bicycles to the Assembly complex from Vyapam Square in the city.

    Sharma told reporters that crude oil prices in the international market almost doubled during the previous UPA regime at the Centre, but the rates of petrol, diesel and LPG in the country were lower at that time.

    “Now, when the prices of crude oil are lower in the international market, the fuel is being sold at much higher rate,” the MLA from Bhopal South-West said.

    Demanding a rollback of the fuel prices, Sharma said MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan should also now ride a bicycle.

    Notably, during the previous UPA regime at the Centre, Chouhan had registered his protest against fuel price hike at that time by riding a bicycle.

    Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Vishvas Sarang claimed the previous Congress government increased the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel in the state.

    “A new jet was purchased and a huge amount of money was spent on bungalows during the Congress regime,” the BJP leader alleged while talking to reporters.

    Sarang said the Congress legislators did “this drama” on Monday only to grab media attention.

    They should use bicycle every day if their protest is real, he added.

    The budget session of the state Assembly will continue till March 26.

  • BJP MLA Girish Gautam files nomination for Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker’s post

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh BJP MLA Girish Gautam on Sunday filed his nomination papers for the post of the state Assembly’s Speaker.

    He is likely to be elected unopposed as the main opposition Congress has decided not to field its candidate for the post.

    The post is lying vacant since March last year when N P Prajapati quit as the Speaker following collapse of the then Congress-led government, after several MLAs resigned from the party and their Assembly membership.

    The BJP subsequently returned to power in the state under the leadership of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

    At present, BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma is the protem Speaker of the state Assembly.

    He has been holding the charge since July 2020 as election for the post could not be organised as two Assembly sessions last year were curtailed while one was cancelled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Gautam, a four-term MLA from Deotalab constituency in Rewa district, filed his nomination papers in the state Assembly secretariat here on Sunday.

    Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra, Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel and other party leaders were present on the occasion.

    Meanwhile, former chief minister and state Congress president Kamal Nath said his party will not field its candidate for the post.

    “Given the constitutional dignity of the post, we have decided to fully cooperate and extend our support for an unopposed election to the Speaker’s post in the state Assembly,” Nath said in a tweet.

    In the 230-member MP Assembly, the ruling BJP enjoys a comfortable majority with 126 legislators.

    The Congress currently has 96 MLAs, while two seats are represented by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), one by the Samajwadi Party (SP) and four by Independents.

    One Assembly seat Damoh is lying vacant after MLA Rahul Lodhi resigned from the Congress in October last year and later joined the BJP.

  • MP Assembly session postponed by fudging COVID-19 figures: Congress

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: The opposition Congress has written to the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Pro Tem Speaker, seeking permission to move a breach-of-privilege motion against three senior health department officials, accusing them of “manipulating and concealing” actual facts about Covid pandemic, just to get the Vidhan Sabha’s winter session postponed last month.

    Significantly, the three-day session (December 28 to 30, 2020) was postponed on December 27 following an all party meeting chaired by Pro Tem Speaker Rameshwar Sharma.

    At that time Additional Chief Secretary (ACS-Health) Mohd. Suleman had made a presentation about the “alarming” 

    situation of Covid pandemic in Bhopal, claiming that many staff of the Vidhan Sabha and the MLA Rest House had tested positive. The presentation played an important role in postponing the session. The eight-page letter addressed to the Pro Tem Speaker was moved by Leader of  Opposition and state Congress chief Kamal Nath on Saturday evening and has signatures of six other Congress MLAs.

    The motion has been sought against ACS (Health) Mohd Suleman and others for “concealing” actual facts and “conspiring” to  postpone the session

    “We’ve got strong evidence which suggests that the claim of a large number of Vidhan Sabha staff testing positive was nothing but fake. The  session was postponed by fudging the numbers, just to save the government from being cornered by the opposition on various burning issues,” Congress MLA from Bhopal South West and former law minister PC Sharma said on Saturday.

    Reacting, state BJP spokesperson Rahul Kothari said, “Congress is making false allegations, as the winter session was postponed following consensus at all-party meeting.”

  • Winter session of MP Vidhan Sabha postponed by manipulating actual COVID-19 facts, alleges Congress

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: The opposition Congress has written to the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Pro Tem Speaker, for moving breach of privilege motion against three senior health department officers, accusing them of manipulating and concealing actual facts about COVID-19 pandemic, just to get the Vidhan Sabha’s three-day winter session postponed last month.

    The winter session (December 28-30, 2020) was postponed on December 27 evening following an all-party meeting chaired by Vidhan Sabha’s Pro Tem Speaker Rameshwar Sharma, where the additional chief secretary (ACS-Health) Mohd. Suleman had made a detailed presentation about the alarming situation of COVID-19 pandemic situation in Bhopal, claiming that many staff of Vidhan Sabha and the MLA Rest House had tested COVID-19 positive.

    The ACS-Health’s presentation painted a dangerous picture of COVID-19 pandemic in Bhopal, played an important role in the three-day winter session of the State Assembly being postponed just a few hours before it was to start.

    The eight-page letter addressed to the Assembly Speaker was moved by Leader of Opposition and state Congress chief Kamal Nath on Saturday evening and has signatures of six other Congress MLAs, including ex-ministers Dr Govind Singh, PC Sharma, Umang Singar, Sajjan Verma, ex-Speaker NP Prajapati and first-time MLA Pravin Pathak.

    The breach of privilege motion has been sought against ACS (Health) Mohd Suleman, Commissioner (Health Services) Sanjay Goyal and Bhopal district chief medical and health officer Dr Prabhakar Tiwari and others for concealing and manipulating actual facts, just to conspire for postponing the session on COVID-19 pandemic grounds.

    One of the signatory Congress MLAs Dr Govind Singh (who was the parliamentary affairs minister in erstwhile Kamal Nath government) was the lone legislator, who during the December 27 all-party meeting had vehemently opposed the move to postpone the three-day session over COVID-19 pandemic.

    At the meet, Singh had said when farmers conclave of over 10,000 people is being organized by ruling BJP in various districts of the state, why can’t the Vidhan Sabha session of three days be held, particularly when the session in adjoining Chhattisgarh is being convened despite the pandemic.

    “We’ve got detailed evidence with us which strongly suggests that the entire details about a large number of Vidhan Sabha staff who were shown to have tested COVID-19 positive, was fake. The session (December 28-30, 2020) was postponed by fudging the numbers, just to save the government from being cornered by the opposition on various burning issues,” Congress MLA from Bhopal South West seat and former MP law minister PC Sharma said on Saturday.

    At the meeting, Mohammad Suleman had reported that the COVID-19 situation in Bhopal and Indore still being worrying, despite falling count of positive cases in other parts of the state. He had also told that out of the 271 COVID-19 tests carried out in Vidhan Sabha premises ahead of the scheduled session, eight were found positive, while out of the 281 tests conducted at the MLA Rest House, 67 staff have tested positive, which means a 23% positivity rate. This was above 10.2% — average positivity across Bhopal at that time.

    “The people who were shown to be positive wasn’t Vidhan Sabha staff, but those working at the MLAs Rest House. Also, we’ve come to know many of those shown positive were not actually COVID-19 positive. A big fraud has been committed, owing to which we’ve sought to bring a breach of privilege motion against all concerned health department officers,” ex-MP law minister PC Sharma said on Saturday.

    Reacting to the Congress legislature party writing to the Pro Team Speaker for moving breach of privilege motion, state BJP spokesperson Rahul Kothari said, “Congress is making false allegations, as the winter session of Vidhan Sabha was postponed following consensus at the all party meeting on December 27, 2020.”