Ahead of MP budget, Congress MLAs chain themselves to protest against state's 'rising' debt

Bhopal: Ahead of Wednesday’s presentation of the Madhya Pradesh budget, Congress MLAs tied themselves with iron chains to protest against the state’s "increased" loan and accused the BJP government of burdening the public financially. Led by the leader of opposition Umang Singhar and former minister Sachin Yadav, they reached the state assembly premises with black cloth-wrapped bundles, symbolising the budget, and holding placards. They tied themselves in chains to highlight the state’s “increased loans”. Singhar told reporters that the BJP government has been taking huge loans due to which the state’s people have been burdened with debt. Due to the increased loans, every person in the state carries a debt of more than Rs 50,000, the Congress leader claimed. But the government does not want to talk about employment, farmers, Dalits, OBCs, tribals and women, he said. “The state government is enjoying the luxury of money by taking loans and the common man is trapped in the chains of debt,” he said. Wednesday is the third day of the budget session of the MP assembly. Deputy CM and Finance Minister Jagdish Devda will present the budget in the House during the day.

The size of the state’s budget for 2025-26 would be around Rs 4.21 lakh crore, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said earlier in the day. On Tuesday, Congress MLAs had protested with plastic snakes in the assembly complex, alleging that the ruling BJP was sitting on government job vacancies “like a serpent”. On Monday, they sported black masks, demanding an extension in the duration of the session.