Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said on Friday that the Cabinet had decided to allow legislators to now be part of cooperative societies.
“In the cooperative sector, the restriction on MPs and MLAs has been suspended. Now, they can stay as members and officer-bearers of cooperative societies,” said Mr. Mishra after a virtual Cabinet meeting.
The easing of restrictions is being seen as a move to accommodate rebels from the Congress. In March, 22 Congress MLAs had resigned en masse and joined the BJP. While 14 of them have been appointed Ministers, one was accorded a Cabinet rank as chairman of M.P. State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd.
Independence Day
As for Independence Day functions, Mr. Mishra said there would be no public ceremonies in the districts. “Flag hoisting will be allowed only according to the guidelines. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will hoist the flag after offering flowers to the portrait of Bharat mata. All Ministers will be present.”
Mr. Chouhan had earlier put a ban on all public political events until August 14 in view of several leaders testing positive for COVID-19. So far, three Ministers and several BJP and Congress MLAs have tested positive for the disease.
