A no-confidence motion against the Madhya Pradesh BJP government was rejected by a verbal vote.
Bhopal:
A no-confidence motion by the opposition Congress against the Madhya Pradesh BJP government was defeated in a verbal vote in the state assembly on Thursday, with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launching an attack on the grand old party and its previous regime led by Kamal Nath The “crime” committed for it.
After the motion was rejected, Speaker Girish Goutam adjourned the winter session of Parliament indefinitely.
Congress filed motions Wednesday targeting the Zhou Han administration’s policing, unemployment, inflation, corruption, “discrimination” against opposition lawmakers, violence against women and tribes, farmers’ issues and other issues.
However, in reply to the motion the next day, CM Chouhan refuted all allegations against his government and stated that the collapse of the Kamal Nath regime (March 2020) was due to the “five major crimes” committed by it, including transfer corruption.
Opposition Leader Dr Govind Singh, who moved the motion, did not appear in the House due to his mother’s illness. Kamal Nath was also absent for two days while the motion was being discussed.
When the House of Representatives convened that day, Congress demanded an apology from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Rameshwar Sharma and Higher Education Minister Mohan Yadav for their remarks about Lord Ram and Goddess Sita, sparking an uproar. They did not allow Chief Minister Shirvaj Singh Chouhan to respond to the motion of no confidence until they apologized for their remarks.
Legislative Affairs Minister Narottam Mishra later said: “Lord Ram and Goddess Sita belong to us as well as others. If any member of the House of Representatives has been harmed by his remarks, then I regret it. Mr Chouhan began by answering the no-confidence motion .Wednesday, there was a 12-hour discussion on this, which ended at 12:35am on Thursday.
“The Nat administration in Congress committed five major crimes including corruption in the transfer of collectors and the Superintendent of Police (SP) which led to its downfall. For the first time in the state’s history, money was taken Used to post collectors and SPs. In Datia, collectors changed three times during their tenure,” Mr Chouhan said.
He claimed that over a period of 165 days, the Congress government mobilized more than 450 members of the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service and mobilized more than 15,000 other officials, turning Mandala into a “den of corruption”. .
Mr Chouhan also claimed that Nath did not have time to deal with his own priorities while leading the government.
“Another big sin committed by the government was in the irrigation sector when it relaxed the rules in favor of a particular contractor and paid Rs 877.57 crore,” Mr Chouhan said.
CM also said that the then government stopped many welfare schemes initiated by the previous BJP government, including the payment of Rs 1,000 to tribes belonging to the Baiga, Saharia and Bharia tribes.
As members of the opposition clamored for Mr Chauhan’s allegations and sought evidence, the prime minister said he had all the evidence and was addressing the House with full responsibility.
Another scheme that ended with the Nath government was Sambal Yojana, initiated by the BJP government. They also removed the names of 7.5 million poor beneficiaries, he said.
CM Chouhan also pointed out that the Nath government stopped distributing laptops to high-achieving students. “What’s wrong with them?” he asked.
However, former Congress minister Jitu Patwari objected to this and asked to indicate whether the government had any orders in this regard.
Mr Chouhan said the Congress government also stopped Prime Minister Jal Jeevan’s mandate to provide piped water to rural households by not contributing 50 percent of the state government’s contribution, adding that the then-government capitulated in Prime Minister Awas Yojana for A provision to build 200,000 homes because it didn’t pay 40% of its contributions.
Responding to allegations in Congress that the Nath government fell due to the BJP, Mr Chauhan said the government fell because it disrespected Jyotiraditya Scindia (who became a federal minister after joining the BJP in 2020).
He said MLAs who quit Congress to join the BJP won by a huge margin, including ministers from the current government.
Mr Chouhan said his government implemented the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in the state to ensure the development of tribal areas to protect their rights.
The CM also highlighted the measures his government has taken to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Referring to the Congress government’s loan waiver scheme, Mr Chouhan said Rahul Gandhi had promised that agricultural loans would be waived within 10 days of his party coming to power in the state. “But everyone knows what happened to that plan,” he said.
However, members of Congress in the House of Representatives refuted the allegation.
Mr Chouhan said the Rs 53,000 crore loan could have been forgiven if the government had implemented the scheme honestly.
“But in fact, due to some conditions, a proposal for loan forgiveness of Rs 11,000 crore was processed but only Rs 7,000 crore was forgiven, which led to a large number of farmers defaulting,” he claimed.
Congressman Tarun Bhanot said the Chouhan government finally accepted the Nath-led waiver to forgive loans worth Rs 7,000 crore. In response, CM Chouhan dubbed it a “lollipop” for farmers and assured his government would handle dues.
He said his government has maintained fiscal discipline and borrowed money as mandated for infrastructure development in the state.
After the Chief Minister responded to the motion, the motion was rejected by voice vote and the Speaker adjourned indefinitely.
The debate on the motion featured several heated exchanges. It started at around 12.20pm on Wednesday and continued without a break until 12.35am, lasting more than 12 hours and ending with a strike by MPs. A total of 45 people from both sides, including 31 from the opposition party, and 14 people including 8 ministers from the ruling party participated.
The five-day General Assembly session, which began on Monday, was due to end on Dec. 23.
(Aside from the title, this story is unedited by NDTV staff and published via a syndicated feed.)
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