MP govt to distribute free smartphones to students; opposition creates uproar

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Assembly Thursday witnessed uproarious scenes after members of the opposition BJP sought a reply from the Congress-led government over the status of the free smart-phones scheme for college students.

Amid the ruckus, Speaker N P Prajapati adjourned the House twice as a result of which the Question Hour was washed out. The discussion started after BJP's Chetanya Kashyap sought to know the status of the distribution of smart-phones to college students under the scheme launched by the previous government led by his party.

In his reply, Minister of Sports and Youth Welfare Jitu Patwari said that the smart-phones scheme was launched during the previous BJP government in 2014, but its actual implementation started in 2016-17.

"Several complaints were received about the functioning of these smart-phones, purchased at Rs 2,100 per piece," he said. The minister said the state government was carrying out an inquiry into the



complaints.

Alleging that the scheme was started by the BJP dispensation for political gains, Patwari added that the government is coming up with another and a "better" scheme.

Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava, however, sought a clear answer from the minister over the resumption of the scheme. Following this, members from both the sides started speaking at once, which created a pandemonium in the House.

Amid the uproarious scenes, the speaker adjourned the house for five minutes. When the proceedings resumed, Bhargava and other opposition members once again raised the issue and sought to know the status of the smart-phones scheme.

Minister for General Administration Govind Singh said that a minister cannot be forced to reply the way the opposition wants. However, the uproar continued and the members did not pay heed to the speaker's appeal to allow him to conduct the Question Hour. After that, the speaker adjourned the House till noon.