The portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and (now) Dr BR Ambedkar stand behind the Speaker's Chair.
The new BJP government in Madhya Pradesh held its first Assembly session Monday and triggered a row after a portrait of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was swapped out for one of the late Dr BR Ambedkar. It was one of two behind the Speaker's Chair; the other is of Mahatma Gandhi.
The change has prompted protests from the Congress. The opposition party said it had no objection to a photograph of Dr Ambedkar in the Assembly, but would not accept the removal of Nehru's portrait.
The Congress accused its rival of "working day and night to erase history". A spokesperson said the party "condemns the removal of Nehruji's photograph", and that it revealed the BJP's "mentality". The party demanded the portrait be re-installed "immediately... otherwise we will do it at the same place".
Assembly officials have said the swap took place in July, on the orders of then Speaker Girish Gautam; the four-time MLA from Deotalab noted the portrait needed repair and had it shifted to another room.
"The poster was in bad shape... so the then Speaker decided to replace it in July... we have a Gandhi-Nehru room in the assembly so the picture of the first Prime Minister was placed there," AP Singh, the Principal Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, told NDTV in response to the row.
The picture was, therefore, changed earlier but this only came to light this week, after the new Assembly took its seat for the four-day inaugural session, which includes swearing-in of MLAs.
Nevertheless, the Congress' Umang Singhar has accused the BJP of playing "cheap politics".
"The BJP wants the Congress to appear anti-Dalit... this is their thinking. They do not want to talk on the issues of the state," he said, "When the time comes, you will also see the picture of (Nathuram) Godse (the man who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi). There should not be such cheap politics..."
The full-length photo on the right side of the Speaker's Chair is that of Gandhi.
The BJP has hit back through former education minister Inder Singh Parmar, who accused the Congress of spreading "misconceptions". "Congress cannot think of anything except Nehru family. We want to tell them Nehru's philosophy is different from that of the country," he declared.
"Ambedkar's contribution is many times more than Nehru's contribution."
The first session of the Assembly began with pro-tem Speaker Gopal Bhargava administering the oath to the new MLAs. The session also saw the Congress' Umang Singhar, who won the Gandhwani seat, elected Leader of the Opposition.
The BJP retained control of Madhya Pradesh after a thumping win in last month's election; the party claimed 163 of 230 seats and the Congress, which harboured hopes of an upset in a state dominated by the saffron party since 2003, had to be content with just 66 seats, down 48 from the last time.
For the full-time Speaker's post, the BJP has nominated former Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Mr Tomar was one of three ex-union ministers to be fielded by the BJP in this election.
Last week the BJP, after days of negotiation, finally named a Chief Minister for the state.
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And it was not veteran leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The ruling party sprang a big surprise and named three-time MLA and former Education Minister Mohan Yadav to the top post.
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Speaking to NDTV, Mr Yadav insisted there is no pressure on him and the ruling party to form a cabinet immediately. "There is no hurry, it will be formed soon," he said.