Put up Sonia photos in MP offices: Digvijay

Bhopal, Mar 12 (UNI) Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh today made a fervent plea in the Assembly to put up pictures of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in government offices and circuit houses across the state as ''a token of gratitude for liberal financial assistance'' being provided by the Centre during the UPA regime.

Initiating the general debate on the state's budgetary demands for 2007-08, Mr Singh pulled up the BJP government for using ''uncivilised'' language against the Centre in Finance Minister Raghavji's budget speech and condemned it.

''The BJP regime lacked the decency to acknowledge the UPA government's liberal assistance, wherein the state received additional allotment of Rs 15,000 crore in the past three years as compared to an increase of only Rs 3,000 crore in the ten-year-long Congress tenure headed by me,'' Mr Singh said.

The directive to put up photographs of Dr Manmohan Singh in offices and circuit houses was not being followed, he alleged, adding that Ms Gandhi's photographs should also be put up.

''Dr Singh and Ms Gandhi have a different approach in extending assistance to states,'' he added.

UNI