The winter session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly has triggered a fresh political row, with Congress MLAs accusing the Assembly Secretariat and the BJP government of altering.
The questions they submitted for the session. One legislator claimed even a query on Ladli Behna beneficiaries was modified without approval. The government has firmly denied any wrongdoing. Congress MLA Jaivardhan Singh, who last year received an incorrect answer to a query, said this time the question itself was changed before it was placed in the House.
In his protest, Singh said: “I had asked when Raghogarh Degree College was established and what courses it offers. The minister replied with postgraduate courses that don’t even exist there. Another college’s information was listed instead of the one I asked about. What recourse does an MLA have when the system itself is giving incorrect or altered responses?”
The controversy intensified after five Congress MLAs filed written complaints alleging that the Secretariat altered the wording, structure, or intent of their questions, calling it a breach of their legislative privilege.
Former Home Minister Bala Bachchan alleged that his question on the Bhavantar Yojana was modified. “When I sought details on procurement at support price, the response was entirely different. The government is avoiding straight answers,” he claimed.
Congress MLA Mahesh Parmar said queries on public concerns were being shortened or reframed. “My question on land pooling was visible on the portal but later disappeared. That same night the Chief Minister said the Land Pooling Act was repealed — so why was my question removed? Many answers are condensed to a few lines, losing their core meaning,” he said, alleging official collusion.
MLAs can submit starred or unstarred questions online or offline within a specified timeframe. In this session, the Secretariat received 1,497 questions — 751 starred and 746 unstarred.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya rejected all allegations, saying MLAs need to frame questions more precisely. “Sometimes questions are so long that the information would have to arrive in an auto-rickshaw. Pointed questions will get pointed answers,” he told reporters.
Cabinet Minister Vishwas Sarang also dismissed the charges: “No questions have been changed. Congress is making baseless claims to distract. Neither questions nor answers have been tampered with.” Experts note that while the Speaker is allowed to shorten overly long questions or limit verbose answers, such changes must preserve the original intention.
As both sides trade accusations, the episode has become yet another Congress–BJP flashpoint in the state assembly.
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