Remove photos of PM Narendra Modi from PMAY houses: HC to MP government

GWALIOR: In a major snub to the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh government, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has ordered it to remove pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from the tiles laid in houses built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) by December 20.

The order was passed by the Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

In its order, the bench said that there should be no photos of any political leaders on any of the tiles in the houses built under the PMAY scheme.

Ordering removal of the already fitted tiles within three months, the court also sought a report from the Madhya Pradesh government by December 20.

The bench also issued notices to the state and central governments after a petition (PIL) was filed in July by Sanjay Purohit, a resident of Datia.

Sanjay Purohit, the petitioner, had questioned as to why the photos of PM Modi and MP CM were being used.

Furthermore, the petitioner's advocate argued that the houses were built using public money, and not for electoral benefits.

Responding to it, the central government informed the court that tiles with photos would be removed. 

The state government, in its reply, informed that an order had been issued for the removal of the photos. 

It also said that only the logo of the scheme would be used on the tiles hereafter.

It may be recalled that the order for installation of tiles with the photos of the PM and CM on the entrance and kitchens of houses built under the scheme was passed by Manju Sharma, Additional Commissioner, Department of Urban Administration and Development, on April 4.