Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker Sitasaran Sharma on Tuesday asked Cabinet Ministers to not use language that hurts the House's dignity. Sharma gave the direction after Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Gopal Bhargava made an objectionable statement directed at Congress members.
Soon after the Question Hour ended, leader of the Opposition demanded a discussion through an adjournment motion over farmers' issue.
As Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accorded the regime's consent, Speaker Sitasaran Sharma said the discussion could commence after completing other business listed on the agenda.
In the meantime, Bhargava made an objectionable comment, which was immediately expunged by the Speaker. However, Congress Members, including Ramniwas Rawat demanded an apology from the Minister.
Amid the ensuing din, Sharma urged ministers to refrain from making statements that would hurt the House's dignity and lead to disruption of proceedings.
Besides, Madhya Pradesh Woman and Child Development Minister Archana Chitnis on Tuesday admitted that the committee constituted to issue a white paper on malnutrition in pursuant to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's directives on September 4, 2016 has not held a single meeting thus far.
In a written reply to Govind Singh, principal Opposition Congress, Chitnis admitted that the meeting could not take place, as preliminary information in this regard could not be examined. She refused to provide a deadline of issuing a white paper.
She admitted that the number of underweight and extremely underweight children was found to have increased during a special campaign to weigh children from November 1, 2016 to February 28, 2017. She attributed malnutrition to inadequate food intake, non-utilisation of health facilities, large numbers of members in the family, apathy towards cleanliness, social evils, superstition and approaching quacks for treatment.