Madhya Pradesh - The newly formed BJP government in Madhya Pradesh stirred controversy during its first Assembly session on Monday by replacing a portrait of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru with one of the late Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The move triggered strong reactions from Congress leaders, who labelled it a "conspiracy to change history".
Since 1996, there had been two portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru on both sides of the wall behind the seat of the Speaker
Congress leaders welcomed the installation of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's portrait but criticised the removal of Nehru's, accusing the BJP of disrespecting the nation-builder.
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MP Assembly Principal Secretary AP Singh told PTI that the portrait of Nehru was replaced with one of Ambedkar during the last session only. "The then Speaker Girish Gautam had directed to replace the portrait (of Nehru) in the last session in July as it was very old and getting worn out," he said.
Responding to the controversy, the Madhya Pradesh Congress expressed its opposition on social media. "If the BJP had honest intentions, it could have placed the photo of Nehru along with Gandhi and Ambedkar. But it is the culture of the BJP to disrespect the freedom fighters and the nation-builder, and therefore, it has removed the photo of Nehru," the party tweeted.
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Senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla told reporters that it is good that the photo of BR Ambedkar, the father of the Constitution, has been put up.
"You should talk to the assembly secretariat in this regard," he said when asked if Nehru's portrait will be put up again.
The BJP recently secured a decisive victory in the state elections, claiming 163 out of 230 seats, while the Congress secured only 66 seats. Last week the BJP, after days of negotiation, finally named a Chief Minister for the state. And it was not veteran leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan but former Education Minister Mohan Yadav.
