- Madhya Pradesh has banned all forms of protest and sloganeering within state assembly premises
- The ban includes symbolic items, masks, horns, and media interactions under Standing Order 94(2)
- Congress legislators have criticised the ban as authoritarian and an attack on democratic rights
Can elected representatives protest in Madhya Pradesh assembly? The state secretariat has answered in the negative.
The assembly has banned all forms of sloganeering, symbolic demonstrations within the premises ahead of the monsoon session, which begins Monday, sparking a political row.
In the last few sessions, the Congress had pulled out all stops in its protest theatre.
One MLA wore a black mask claiming the government was hiding its face from the questions of the public. Another turned up with a fake snake, accusing the administration of coiling around job vacancies. Skeleton costumes and gold bricks were waved as metaphors for corruption. Chains were used to highlight debt. A lone BAP Party MLA even staged a fast at the feet of Gandhi's statue, drawing inspiration from the Mahatma himself.
Now, all of that, says the government, is over.
The new rule, under Standing Order 94(2), forbids symbolic items, masks, horns, protests, turning the Assembly into a 'silence zone'.
This triggered outrage among Congress legislators.
Hemant Katare, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, termed the move authoritarian.
"They've even banned giving media bytes. If people can't see what's happening inside, if slogans of Mahatma Gandhi and Baba Saheb Ambedkar are objectionable now, then are we in a state of emergency?" he asked.
He called on the Speaker to withdraw the order, claiming it seems to be issued under government pressure.
Congress leader Dr Govind Singh echoed the sentiment, warning that if MLAs cannot raise issues in the House premises, they will raise them elsewhere even in jail if need be.
Former minister and senior MLA Lakhan Ghanghoria called the order unconstitutional and an attack on the democratic right to protest. "If the Hon'ble Speaker has forgotten his own years in opposition, he must be reminded of democratic traditions," he added.
Ironically, the official logic behind the move is to preserve the "dignity of democracy." But the opposition claims democracy without dissent is a mere monologue. They point out that while earlier protests may have bordered on the theatrical, they at least brought public attention to real issues.
BJP MLA and former Protem Speaker Rameshwar Sharma defended the order, saying the Assembly was meant for serious constitutional discussion, not for "wrestling and chaos." He said that protests belong in places like Roshanpura or Dussehra grounds, not the Assembly. "The House is not a theatre," he added.
Ahead of the monsoon session, legislators in Madhya Pradesh have submitted a total of 3,377 questions, showing a marked interest in the Assembly's shift towards the e-Vidhan format. Of these, 2,076 questions were submitted online, the remaining 1,301 questions were filed offline.
The Assembly Secretariat has directed government departments to provide answers within a set deadline so that legislators receive accurate and timely responses during the proceedings.
