Congress: The BJP retained control of Madhya Pradesh after a landslide victory in last month’s election; the party won 163 of 230 seats, while the Congress received only 66.
The new BJP government in Madhya Pradesh held its first Assembly session on Monday, sparking outrage when a portrait of late former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was replaced with one of late Dr BR Ambedkar. The portrait of Nehru is one of two behind the Speaker’s Chair; the other is one of Mahatma Gandhi, which has yet to be removed.
The opposition Congress protested the change, accusing its opponent of working day and night to erase history. We condemn the removal of Nehruji’s photograph from the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, the party’s spokesperson, Abbas Hafeez, said on X (formerly Twitter).
The BJP’s current hold on power is unfortunate for the country. The BJP is working around the clock to obliterate history. Removing the picture of the country’s first Prime Minister, which had been hung in the Assembly for decades, demonstrates the BJP’s mentality, Mr Hafeez said.
The portrait should be put back up immediately… otherwise, we will put up Nehruji’s photograph in the same place, he declared, kicking off an explosive debate in the Assembly.
The Assembly’s first session – a shortened four-day winter session – began with pro-tem Speaker Gopal Bhargava administering the oath to the new MLAs. The Congress’ Umang Singhar, who won the Gandhwani seat, was also elected Leader of the Opposition during the session.
BJP
The BJP retained control of Madhya Pradesh after a landslide victory in last month’s election; the party won 163 of 230 seats, while the Congress, which had hoped for an upset in a state dominated by the saffron party since 2003, had to settle for 66 seats, down 48 from the previous election.
The BJP has nominated former Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to be the full-time Speaker. The BJP fielded three ex-union ministers in this election, including Mr. Tomar.
After days of wrangling, the BJP finally named a Chief Minister for the state last week.
And it was not Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the veteran leader. The ruling party surprised everyone by naming three-time MLA and former Education Minister Mohan Yadav as its leader.
Ratnavali