Bhopal, February 16 – As the Budget Session of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly began on Monday, the Opposition Congress reiterated its demand for a White Paper on the mounting debt under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.
Addressing a press conference, state Congress president Jitu Pawari and LoP in the state Assembly, Umang Singhar, demanded that the government present a ‘white paper’ in the House to reveal the actual economic condition of the state.
Pawari reiterated his allegation that Madhya Pradesh is facing a ‘serious financial crisis’ due to the wrong policies of the BJP government over the past 20 years and warned of a massive agitation on this issue.
The Congress party will continue its demand for a White Paper on the current economic condition of Madhya Pradesh. “If the government does not provide a White Paper, the Congress workers will stage a massive protest at the Assembly on February 24,” Pawari said.
Meanwhile, the Congress also announced that it will oppose the presence of three senior ministers – Deputy CM Rajendra Shukla, the state’s Urban Affairs Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, and Tribal Welfare Minister Vijay Shah – during the ongoing budget session.
“Whenever anyone from the three Ministers is about to speak in the House, the Congress MLAs will oppose them. We will even allow them to answer questions raised by MLAs. These Ministers should be removed from the Cabinet,” Pawari said.
The Congress is targeting Kailash Vijayvargiya for contaminated drinking water in Indore’s Bhagirathpura, where 35 people (as claimed by the Congress) have died so far. The opposition blamed Vijayvargiya, as the tragedy occurred in his Assembly constituency, and he also heads the state’s Urban Department.
Similarly, the Congress demanded the resignation of Deputy CM Rajendra Shukla in connection with the Chhindwara and Betul district tragedy, which killed over 20 children, including a three-year-old boy, who was admitted to a hospital in Nagpur (Maharashtra) and died a few days ago.
Last week, Pawari also wrote a letter to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, demanding that these three ministers be removed from the Cabinet before the Governor’s address in the budget session, to respect public sentiment.
Notably, the Winter Session of the State Assembly began on Monday with the Governor’s address to the House, which was repeatedly interrupted by noisy protests from opposition Indian National Congress MLAs.
In his address, Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai Patel highlighted the achievements of the Mohan Yadav-led Bharatiya Janata Party state government and outlined its future plans to develop the state.
He informed that the state government had designated this year as the Year of Industry and Employment. Patel said the government organised the Global Investors’ Summit and several regional industry summits, achieving remarkable success in attracting investment proposals and signing MoUs.