Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Assembly began its budget session on Monday, with opening remarks from Governor Mangubhai Patel, who lauded the BJP-led state government's efforts to make Madhya Pradesh self-sufficient.
The Governor stated that Madhya Pradesh was working hand in hand with the federal government to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of making India "prosperous, self-reliant, and developed."
"My government is committed to make Madhya Pradesh self-reliant. The Global Investors Summit (GIS)-2023 (held in Indore last month) was a milestone. Investment proposals to the tune of Rs 15.42 lakh crore came in, which speaks volumes of the investors' unwavering faith in the state government's industrial policy and work culture," Patel added.
During his speech at the opening session of the Assembly, the Governor talked about some of the steps taken by the Centre and the state government, such as the PESA Act and the renaming of Bhopal's railway station after Rani Kamlapati.
Madhya Pradesh's BJP-led administration, headed by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, will present a paperless Budget on March 1 ahead of the state's upcoming Assembly elections at the end of the year. If successful, this would be the first time that Madhya Pradesh has ever presented its annual budget in a completely electronic format.
But Govind Singh, the leader of the opposition and a senior Congress leader, told reporters that he would be against presenting the budget without paper. He said that many MLAs don't know how to use digital systems, so he would request the House to give him budget papers.
Jitu Patwari, a former minister and Congress MLA from Indore, and his party colleague Kunal Choudhary brought a plough to the Assembly complex on the first day of the month-long Budget session to show solidarity with the state's struggling farmers.
Speaker Girish Gautam adjourned the House until Tuesday following the Governor's address.—Inputs from Agencies
