Madhya Pradesh assembly passes 19 laws without discussion
The four-day monsoon session of the Madhya Pradesh assembly was reduced to two days this year, with just about two hours of business transacted, during which six bills and the supplementary budget were passed. Some 28 proposals to make or amend laws were placed in the house, out of which over 19 proposals were passed without any discussion.
One of the laws that was passed amid much noise and protest by the opposition was the Madhya Pradesh Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which allowed capital punishment and life imprisonment in cases related to deaths due to illegal liquor consumption.
This law was made by the state government after seven people died from illegal liquor poisoning in Mandsaur. Speaker Girish Gautam declared the bill passed without any discussion amid sloganeering by Congress MLAs.
The Madhya Pradesh Moneylender (Amendment) Bill was passed in just six minutes; the Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Bill was discussed for only 1.14 minutes.
Last year, amid tight COVID-19 safety guidelines, the single-day special monsoon session was adjourned within 90 minutes. These are the shortest hours that the Madhya Pradesh assembly has been convened in years.