Nehru's Portrait Replaced With Ambedkar's In Madhya Pradesh Assembly, Triggers Row

The newly formed BJP government in Madhya Pradesh stirred controversy during its initial Assembly session on Monday (18 December) when a picture of the late former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was replaced with one of the late Dr B R Ambedkar.

Previously, Nehru's portrait was one of two displayed behind the Speaker's Chair, alongside one of Mahatma Gandhi, which remains unchanged.

The change sparked protests from the opposition Congress party, which accused BJP of "working day and night to erase history".

"We condemn the removal of Nehruji's photograph from the Madhya Pradesh Assembly," Abbas Hafeez, the party's spokesperson, posted on X (formerly Twitter).

"It is unfortunate for the country that the BJP is in power today. The BJP is working day and night to erase history. Removing the picture of the country's first Prime Minister, which had been hung in the Assembly for decades, shows the mentality of the BJP," Hafeez said, NDTV reported.

"The portrait should be put back up immediately... otherwise we will put up Nehruji's photograph at the same place," he declared.

The first meeting of the Assembly, part of the four-day winter session, commenced with Gopal Bhargava, the pro-tem Speaker, swearing in the newly elected MLAs.

During this session, Umang Singhar from the Congress, victorious in the Gandhwani constituency, was appointed as the Leader of the Opposition.

retained control of Madhya Pradesh after a thumping win in last month's election; the party claimed 163 of 230 seats and the Congress, which harboured hopes of an upset in a state dominated by the saffron party since 2003, had to be content with just 66 seats, down 48 from the last time.

The BJP has put forward the former Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, as their nominee for the full-time Speaker's post.

Tomar is among the three former union ministers that the BJP has fielded in the state election.

After several days of discussions, the BJP finally appointed a Chief Minister for the state last week.

Contrary to expectations, the seasoned leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan was not selected.

Instead, the governing party appointed Mohan Yadav, a three-time Member of the Legislative Assembly and former Education Minister, to the highest position.