Bhopal, Aug 1 (IANS) The fifth day of the Monsoon Session in the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly was marked by intense disruptions and political confrontation. Proceedings were briefly adjourned for ten minutes after Congress legislators demanded the resignation of Tribal Welfare Minister Vijay Shah, whose recent remarks about Army officer Colonel Sofia Qureshi have sparked widespread outrage and judicial scrutiny.
As Minister Shah entered the House, Congress MLA Phool Singh Baraiya vocally called for his resignation, accusing him of insulting the armed forces.
The demand was met with immediate resistance from Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya and other members of the ruling party, leading to a heated exchange.
The situation quickly escalated as Congress MLAs began raising slogans in unison, prompting the Speaker to suspend the session temporarily in an effort to restore order.
Outside the chamber, Opposition members continued their protest, reiterating their call for Shah’s dismissal.
The controversy surrounding Minister Shah stems from his alleged reference to Colonel Qureshi as the “sister of terrorists” during a public event in Indore.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has already ordered an FIR against him, and the Supreme Court has reprimanded him for failing to issue a sincere public apology.
A Special Investigation Team has been constituted to probe the matter, and a quo warranto petition seeking his removal is currently pending before the apex court.
Meanwhile, the Assembly also witnessed protests over the alleged shortage in the state’s fertiliser supply and distribution.
Before the session commenced, Congress MLAs staged a symbolic demonstration, carrying sacks of urea and bottles of nano fertiliser to highlight what they described as a deepening crisis.
The Opposition alleged that the government was forcing farmers to use nano urea instead of conventional fertilisers, resulting in declining soil fertility and crop damage.
Agriculture Minister Edal Singh Kanshana dismissed the allegations, stating that the state had sufficient fertiliser stocks and that distribution was being managed efficiently.
Civil Supplies Minister Govind Singh Rajput echoed this view, accusing the Congress of manufacturing issues for political gain.
Despite these assurances, Congress leaders, including Arif Masood and Tarana MLA Mahendra Singh Sisodia, maintained that farmers across the state were struggling to access fertilisers and that the government was failing to address their concerns.
Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar announced his intention to raise the issue of irregularities in the 108 ambulance service, alleging that the Jai Ambe Emergency Services was failing to provide timely assistance to patients, pregnant women, and accident victims.
The day’s agenda included a wide range of issues through call attention motion from both sides of the aisle.
BJP MLA Bhupendra Singh planned to raise concerns over illegal encroachments on government land in Malthone, while Congress MLA Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat intended to question the appointment of an allegedly ineligible person as Registrar of Madhya Pradesh Bhoj (Open) University.
Other topics listed for discussion included compensation delays for land acquisition in Itarsi, crop damage due to weedicide use in Khachrod, elephant migration in Anuppur, and drinking water shortages under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
Congress MLA Jhuma Solanki was expected to highlight irregularities in teacher transfers in Khargone district, while Hemant Katare aimed to draw attention to procedural violations in tender amendments and social audits under the Public Health Engineering Department.
Environmental and sports-related concerns were also on the docket, with Umakant Sharma raising the issue of illegal teak wood cutting in Vidisha and Pratap Grewal speaking on the lack of facilities for football players in Sardarpur.
Nitendra Singh Rathore planned to address unauthorised MNREGA work in Prithvipur without the District Collector’s approval.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
