Congress disrupts Madhya Pradesh Assembly over rape issue

Amid pandemonium over the gang-rape of a Swiss tourist, the Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Monday cleared four Bills with a voice vote. The incident occurred on March 15 in Datia district. The Assembly was later adjourned for the day following din created by the main Opposition party, Indian National Congress, which demanded Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta's resignation over the incident.

The four Bills - MP Panchayat Raj Evam Gram Swaraj (Samshodhan) Vidheyak, Madhya Pradesh Nivesh Kshetra Vikas Aur Prabandh Vidheyak, Madhya Pradesh VAT (Samshodhan) Vidheyak and Madhya Pradesh Sthaniya Mal Ke Pravesh Par Kar Vidheyak - were passed by voice vote.

Boost for real estate
With the clearance of the MP Panchayat Raj Evam Gram Swaraj (Samshodhan) Vidheyak, real estate players would be allowed to develop residential colonies in the Panchayat areas near town or city areas. The Bill also talks about stricter penal provisions for illegal development of colonies or non-compliance.

The other Bill pertaining to amendment in the Entry Tax Act will rationalise entry tax on certain commodities including coal, steel, and iron, cotton, copper, domestic cooking gas, aluminum and metal scraps. The investment area development Bill will empower the government to appoint an agency that will monitor developmental activities and will acquire plots in a periphery of 150 km of the proposed Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).

The state is setting up two mega-investment regions and two mega-industrial regions. The MP VAT (Amendment) Bill 2013 which has been cleared on Monday will encourage more traders to obtain registration and file returns. It would also rationalise value-added tax on certain items as announced by state finance minister while presenting the Budget for 2013-14.

Earlier when the House assembled for the day, members of the Congress party, led by Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Choudhary Rakesh Singh Chaturvedi, demanded resignation of the Home Minister. The Congress members, dressed in black clothes with the Hindi slogan "Madhya Pradesh Balatkaar me Number one" (Madhya Pradesh is number one in rape cases), created a furore in the house over Gupta's statement that the victim was also at fault. They reached the well of the house and raised slogans against the government.

The chief minister tried to convince the Opposition by inviting them for a discussion. The Speaker adjourned the house for half-an-hour. When the house reassembled after the question hour, Speaker Ishwardas Rohani requested the Congress members to participate in a discussion over the adjournment motion brought by them. But they pressed for Gupta's resignation and insisted that the matter would be taken up only after the Home Minister resigned.

Later, when the House resumed, the Opposition members again created an uproar following which the Speaker adjourned it till 11.30 am.

When the House assembled again, Congress members stuck to their demand of Gupta's resignation and paid no heed to the Chair's request for order. The Speaker after transacting the listed business adjourned the House for the day.