MP CM and cabinet to stage sit-in at Bhopal tomorrow

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his cabinet colleagues will stage a sit-in here tomorrow during the statewide shut down call given by BJP to protest against the Centre's "apathy" towards farmers affected by natural calamities.
"When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had no time to meet the MP Chief Minister during his last visit to Delhi on the issue of farmers despite the fact that he was present in the national capital, the BJP is left with no option except to resort to protest," Madhya Pradesh BJP President Narendra Singh Tomar told reporters here today.
Farmers across Madhya Pradesh would also stage a road blockade on the issue, Tomar said.

The BJP has given a call to observe a shut down until 2 pm to protest the "apathetic" attitude of the Centre towards the state farmers, and the entire Madhya Pradesh cabinet will stage a sit-in protest in the state capital from 10 am to 2 pm, he said.
The BJP had demanded declaration of extensive damage to crops by rain and hailstorm as a "national calamity" and asked for a package of Rs 5,000 crore from the Centre, he said.
Other issues due to which BJP has given a shut down call are meagre compensation given by the Centre of soybean crop despite a central team recommending a Rs 370-crore relief package, purchase of gram crop at the maximum support price and recognising Madhya Pradesh as a basmati rice growing state, he said.

Referring to announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule, Tomar said MP BJP's election committee would soon meet to finalise the list of candidates to be fielded from the 29 seats in the state.