Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday dumped decades-old rule by deciding to discontinue the practice of paying income tax of the speaker of the state Assembly and the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the house.The decision was taken at the meeting of the state council of ministers held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.The state government used to bear the income tax of the state Assembly speaker and the LoP earlier.The move comes close on the heels of a similar decision taken relating to the state minister earlier.The state cabinet at its meeting on June 25 this year had struck down a 52-year-old rule entitling the state ministers to a special privilege under which the state government paid their income tax.As per a rule made in 1972, the state exchequer needed to bear the income tax of the state ministers.In another move, the state council of ministers cleared the proposal to demolish the MLA rest house in the state capital and build 102 new quarters for the lawmakers at a cost of Rs 159 crore.Mr Yadav declared on the occasion that the next meeting of his cabinet would be held at Singrampur under Damoh district in Madhya Pradesh in honour of Rani Durgavati who was known for standing up to the mighty Mughal Empire.Singrampur was the capital of Rani Durgavati, the queen of the Gond kingdom of Garha-Katanga and scion of the famous Chandela dynasty of Mahoba.The chief minister further announced that this year’s Dussehra festival would be celebrated with ‘Sasthra Pujan’ (worship of arms).While he would perform the ‘Sasthra Pujan’ at the fort city of Maheshwar, the capital of ex-ruler of the region Ahyalya Bai, in the state on the occasion, his ministers would celebrate the festival at different places in the state.
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