Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 10 : Ahead of the beginning of the Madhya Pradesh budget session on Monday, Congress MLAs staged a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue located on the premises of Madhya Pradesh assembly demanding extension of the session.
Leader of Opposition (LoP) MP Assembly and Congress MLA Umang Singhar targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government saying the government is scared and running away from the public's question.
"The government is scared and doesn't want to run the assembly. The government is running away from the questions of the public. The public representatives are coming here with the problems but the government does not want to listen to their problems. Therefore, we have symbolically done it (protest) as the government is running away from the public's questions," Singhar told reporters.
He further added that the budget sessions used to be one month long but the government do not want to make discussions on the budget and want to settle it in short.
"There should be a discussion on every department's budget. MLAs put up problems of their respective regions about water, electricity, roads etc. So, does the government not want development in the state? You (government) want to suppress the voice of the people. So, we have symbolically done this today and I want to ask the government that if you are doing development, come and discuss within the assembly," the Leader of Opposition said.
The Congress leader further added that they wanted the duration of the budget session to be extended so that every MLA be it Congress or the BJP can address their issues in the house.
"We want the government to extend the budget session so that every MLAs whether the Congress or the BJP, can put their points in the house. The government should not hide its face," he added.
The budget session of Madhya Pradesh assembly began on Monday with the governor's address and it will conclude on March 24.