Bhopal, Nov 30 (IANS) The winter session of the 16th Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly will begin on Monday, December 1, and run till December 5, marking the seventh sitting of the current House.

Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar on Saturday chaired a high-level review meeting with senior officials of the Vidhan Sabha Secretariat and took stock of all arrangements to ensure the five-day session proceeds without disruption.

Though spread over five calendar days, the House will actually transact business on only four sittings because December 3 falls on a Tuesday, traditionally observed as a non-sitting day in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly for committee work and other legislative business.

The Secretariat has received an unusually heavy load of notices ahead of the session. As many as 751 listed questions and 746 unstarred questions seeking written replies have been admitted so far, taking the total number of questions to 1,497.

Members have also submitted 194 calling attention notices, six adjournment motion notices, 52 zero-hour submissions, 14 private member resolutions, two notices under Rule 139 for discussion on matters of urgent public importance, and 15 petitions.

In addition, the government has listed two bills for introduction and passage during the brief session.

Speaker Tomar directed officials to complete all pre-session formalities well in advance, including printing and circulation of the provisional list of business, updating the digital question management system, and ensuring seamless live telecast and webcast arrangements.

He stressed the need for strict adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour inside the House and asked the engineering wing to keep backup power and air-conditioning systems fully functional, given the sharp drop in temperature across the state capital.

With the opposition Congress gearing up to corner the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on issues ranging from farm distress and rising unemployment to law and order and alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations, the short session is expected to be stormy despite its limited duration.

Leaders from both sides held separate strategy meetings on Saturday evening, indicating that the Question Hour and calling attention motions will witness heated exchanges right from the opening day.

As the historic Vidhan Sabha building in Bhopal gears up to host another crucial session, all eyes will be on whether the treasury and opposition benches can strike a balance between aggressive political contestation and constructive legislative work in the compressed winter sitting that begins on Monday morning.

–IANS

sktr/uk