Bhopal Master Plan: PC Sharma ends hunger strike, warns of agitation

Senior Congress leader PC Sharma ended his 31-hour hunger strike demanding the Bhopal Master Plan. State chief Jitu Patwari joined, giving the BJP govt a 3-month ultimatum for Bhopal and Indore plans, warning of intensified agitation.

Senior Congress leader PC Sharma on Saturday ended his 31-hour hunger strike over the long-pending Bhopal Master Plan, with state Congress president Jitu Patwari joining the protest helping him break the fast. Sharma had launched the hunger strike demanding the implementation of the Bhopal Master Plan on Friday. He also warned that the Congress would intensify its agitation if the state government failed to bring the plan at the earliest.

Congress Issues Ultimatum to BJP Government

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari, who joined the protest, said that the master plans for Bhopal and Indore were urgently needed, alleging that people and traders were facing difficulties due to unplanned development. “The master plan of Indore and Bhopal is a need. People are facing a lot of hardship. Unplanned development is taking place. Issuing notices to people only for corruption, giving officials a free hand and causing harassment to people and traders of Bhopal and those working in Indore is the real character of this government,” Patwari said.

He urged Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to take steps to bring the master plans for Bhopal and Indore within three months, warning that the Congress would undertake a padyatra from Bhopal to Indore if the demand was not met. “I am the son of Indore and Bhopal is the capital of our state. The Congress party urges Mohan Yadav to bring the master plans here within three months and take the initiative. Otherwise, the Congress party will undertake a padyatra from Bhopal to Indore against this,” he said.

'Plan Pending for Decades,' Says PC Sharma

Speaking during the protest, Sharma said the Bhopal Master Plan had been pending for decades and alleged that the BJP government had failed to implement it. "I have been watching for over 30 years. The last master plan came in 1995 when the Digvijaya Singh government was in power. After that, it was supposed to be implemented in 2005, then 2015 and then 2025. The BJP has been in power for 25 years but has not been able to bring it,” Sharma said.

He further claimed that the Congress government under former Chief Minister Kamal Nath had prepared the Bhopal Master Plan 2031 and alleged that this government did not implement it. “When there was a Congress government for 15-months in the state, the Master Plan 2031 was prepared. They did not implement that either,” Sharma said.

The Congress leader further warned that if the master plans for Bhopal and Indore were not brought within three months, the Congress would mobilise 50,000 workers and stage a protest outside the Chief Minister's residence. “It has now been decided that if the master plans for Bhopal and Indore do not come within three months, 50,000 Congress workers will come and gherao the Chief Minister's residence,” he said.

After ending his 31-hour fast, Sharma reiterated that the agitation would continue if the government failed to implement the Bhopal Master Plan at the earliest. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)