Ruckus in MP Assembly over Amit Shah's remark on Dr Ambedkar

Bhopal (The Uttam Hindu): The Opposition Congress and ruling BJP on Wednesday here in Madhya Pradesh exchanged barbs over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement regarding Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar in the Parliament. On the third day of the winter session of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Congress legislators raised the issue in the House and demanded that the Union Home Minister should tender an apology for his statement.

The Congress legislators led by Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Umang Singhar even reached the well of the House and staged a protest raising slogans of "Amit Shah maafi maago". The ruling benches countered Singhar, which led to an exchange of heated arguments between the legislators of the BJP and Congress. The State's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya tried to control the situation, saying the House couldn't debate on this issue and urged Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar that nothing should be taken on record. In response, Congress MLAs started shouting slogans more aggressively and reached the well of the House. The members from the ruling party, who were (most of them) silent so far, stood up from their benches and assembled at the front seat (near CM's bench). Subsequently, BJP legislators, including Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and all his cabinet ministers also reached the well of the House. Nonetheless, the Congress MLAs continued their arguments and finally walked out of the House. It prompted Speaker Tomar to adjourn the House proceedings for 10 minutes. Earlier in the morning, Congress legislators arrived at the Assembly carrying tea kettles, alleging the BJP government's failure to deliver on its promise of creating two lakh jobs annually. "We have brought tea kettles to symbolise the plight of Madhya Pradesh's youth, who are being forced to open tea stalls under the BJP's governance. During the elections, the BJP promised to provide two lakh jobs every year, but it has failed to fulfil its commitment," said Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Umang Singhar.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA Mahesh Parmar from Tarana constituency in Ujjain arrived at the Assembly wearing a garland made of liquor bottles to protest against the ruling BJP. Security personnel stopped him from entering the House until he removed the garland. Parmar stated that he intended to wear the garland inside the House to highlight the alleged liquor scam in Madhya Pradesh.