The Madhya Pradesh Assembly’s ongoing budget session witnessed uproarious scenes on Thursday, as Opposition Congress MLAs demanded the resignation of Urban Development Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya and others in connection with the deaths of several people due to contaminated drinking water in Indore.
Opposition MLAs also staged a protest outside the House, displaying empty steel plates as a symbol of the state government’s directionless budget, its empty coffers, and the rising debt on the people of the state.
Inside the house, Leader of the Opposition Umang Singhar contradicted the state government’s figures of 22 deaths, and claimed that 35 people had died due to contaminated drinking water.
Amidst allegations and heated arguments between the treasury and Opposition benches, speaker Narendra Singh Tomar adjourned the proceedings for five minutes. The din, nonetheless, continued later too and the Opposition MLAs trooped to the well of the house.
The Opposition stuck to its demand of sacking Vijayvargiya, along with Indore’s BJP Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava.
The members of the treasury benches, however, contested that discussing the Indore matter in the Assembly should be avoided, as the matter is currently being heard in the court.