The Mahashivaratri celebrations witnessed enthusiastic participation from the Madhya Pradesh government with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan joining the celebrations with his wife and the Bhopal police giving a “grand guard of honour” to Lord Shiva during the celebrations here.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan himself joined the “shiva baraat” (marriage procession of Lord Shiva) along with his wife Sadhna Singh and lent a hand to pulling the rath (vehicle).
The police gave a “guard of honour” to Lord Shiva as Mr. Chauhan set the ‘baraat’ procession moving by “pulling” the rath.
Meanwhile, the issue of an ineffective police force's failure to ensure law and order will be the cornerstone of the opposition's strategy to take on the government during the budget session of the state legislature starting Tuesday.
The Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Ajay Singh said the arrest of firebrand Congress MLA Kalpana Parulekar for morphing the state Lokayukta P.P.Naolekar's photograph to show him in a RSS uniform will be the chief issue for the opposition.
This would be followed by other major law and order issues like the sensational murder of journalist Chandrika Rai and his entire family this past weekend, the gangrape of two minor girls by a group of 14 boys, allegedly including the sons and relatives of some local BJP leaders of Indore, and the increasing incidences of high-profile kidnapping cases recently witnessed across the state, among others.
The leader of opposition also said the issue of reported forced sterilizations conducted in the state in recent weeks would also be raised.
The opposition would also raise the issue of rampant illegal mining going on across the state.
