Bhopal: The first five days of the ongoing monsoon session of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly largely remained highlighted for protests from the opposition (Congress) members, relentless disruption, chaos, along with a few businesses, including the passing of some important Bills from the House till Friday.
Days before the monsoon session started on July 28, Madhya Pradesh Assembly Secretariat issued a notification, prohibiting protest and sloganeering in the Assembly premises; however, those directives remained on paper only as the opposition members staged a symbolic protest, and that continued till Friday.
On the first day (July 28), the House was adjourned within the next two hours after paying tributes to the victims of the June 12 Ahmedabad plane crash, the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and other prominent personalities who passed away recently.
On the second day (July 29), the Leader of the Opposition, Umang Singhar, charged that attacks on MLAs were taking place across the state. He said the state government and police were not taking any action against the accused. Congress also raised the reservation issue on the second day, alleging that the BJP government is not willing to implement the 27 per cent reservation policy for OBCs.
On the second day, Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar expressed his disappointment that questions raised by the legislators were not directly answered. Tomar even directed Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to ensure that direct answers are given instead of mentioning “details are being gathered”. The issue was raised by senior Congress MLA from Jabalpur East, Bala Bachchan, who told the House that 16 questions related to Chief Minister’s office had similar answer – “information is being gathered”.
Responding to that, the Speaker said, “Instructions have been given on this matter earlier. The chief minister is sitting here. A direct answer should come.”
On the third day (July 30), the House began as usual after a symbolic protest from the Opposition in the Assembly premises. However, the House witnessed healthy discussion on various key issues raised by the Congress and the BJP MLAs. A couple of key bills (Amendment) were also approved by the House.
Fourth Day (July 31), the state Assembly passed the revised rules of the Labour (Amendment) Bill 2025. The Amendment rules mandate industrial units to submit a 45-day notice before declaring a strike or lockout. Despite protests from the Congress MLAs, the state’s Labour Minister Prahlad Patel defended the bill, saying it is designed to maintain a balance between workers’ welfare and industrial growth.
“We respect the labourers, but the speed of development must also be maintained,” Patel said. During the House proceedings, the State’s Urban Affairs Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya put forth a proposal for the expansion of Metro rail connectivity for discussion. During the discussion, senior Congress MLA and ex-CM Kamal Nath appreciated the government for the proposal.
Meanwhile, he also took credit for sanctioning the Rail Metro Project for the state when he was a Union Minister.
The fifth day (August 1) of the monsoon session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly witnessed chaos as opposition MLAs launched a sharp attack against Cabinet Minister Vijay Shah, demanding his resignation.
The House reverberated with slogans of “Vijay Shah resign” as soon as the minister rose to respond to a departmental query. Relentless disturbance prompted Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar to adjourn the House for the next half-an-hour. When the House reassembled, the opposition again created pandemonium. While the second calling attention motion was being discussed amid noisy scenes, the opposition trooped into the Well. The Speaker adjourned the House till August 4.
The monsoon session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly will conclude on August 8.
(IANS)
