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Journalism of Courage
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had his Assembly colleagues in splits as he claimed that the power situation in Bhopal during the Congress rule was so bad that people were forced to roam around in their underpants.
“The people were so helpless that they used to move around in their underpants. You have all seen it. They would take off their vests,’’ Chouhan said Tuesday while claiming that under the BJP, state’s power generation had reached 16116 MW from 2900 MW towards the end of the Congress rule.
The CM was replying to the debate on motion of thanks to the Governor’s address. Refuting charges that Centre had cut funding to the state, Chouhan said double-digit growth rate and the agriculture growth rate of 20 to 24 per cent was the hallmark of BJP rule.
He added that the state will spend Rs 1500 crore for Narmada’s purification.
Leader of Opposition Bala Bachchan, however, said that the state’s financial condition was grim and communal tension on the rise. He also alleged that business tycoons, who were part of the official delegation to Singapore, were raided by the Income Tax department. While the CM did not make any reference to the I-T raids in his speech, he refuted allegations of communal strife, calling the state an “island of peace”. He said his government had successfully conducted puja and namaz at Bhojshala in Dhar on the occasion of Basant Panchmi that fell on a Friday.
Despite taking potshots at each other through the sitting, treasury and opposition benches thumped their desks as Chouhan requested the state’s finance minister to increase the MLAs’ constituency fund to Rs 2 crore.
‘1 illegal Bangla national in MP’
Only one Bangladeshi national has been found living illegally in MP, state Home Minister Babulal Gaur has said. In 1996, Kamlesh Narayan Sarkar was arrested from Raisen. He was later tried and jailed. Gaur was replying to a question by BJP MLA Welsingh Bhuria about Bangladeshis living illegally in the state.
