The 16th Madhya Pradesh assembly’s first session on Monday commenced with a dispute when the portrait of the late Jawaharlal Nehru, former Prime Minister, was substituted with that of the late Dr BR Ambedkar. The picture is exhibited behind the Speaker’s chair in the House.
On one side, the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi is still on display, while Jawaharlal Nehru’s picture, which was previously on the other side of the Speaker’s Chair, has been replaced.
The alteration was met with opposition from Congress leaders who demanded the restoration of Jawaharlal Nehru’s picture. The party cautioned that if the picture is not reinstated to its original state, Congress MLAs will take matters into their own hands.
The session, which took place after the elections, commenced with pro-tem speaker Gopal Bhargava extending a warm welcome to the newly-elected members and initiating the process of administering their oath. The four-day winter session began almost a week after the new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, assumed office.
The pro-tem Speaker informed the house that Umang Singhar from the Congress had been elected by the party as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the assembly, a position at the cabinet level.
For the post of assembly speaker, the BJP has nominated senior leader and former Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar.