Highlights
- Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel responded to the debate before the motion was defeated
- Leader of Opposition Dharam Lal Kaushik tabled the charge-sheet in the House
- Chhattisgarh Cong chief Mohan Markam said the state govt has fulfilled 30 out of 36 poll promises
Chhattisgarh no-confidence motion: The no-trust vote moved by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the Congress government in Chhattisgarh was defeated by a voice vote in the state Legislative Assembly on Thursday.
The House witnessed a stormy debate over the no-confidence motion as the opposition members targeted the Congress government over its "infighting", alleged corruption and non-fulfillment of its poll promises, while the ruling party rejected the charges claiming the opposition has failed to come up with any concrete issue.
The debate, in which the BJP presented an 84-point “charge-sheet” against the state government, was passed after midnight following a 13-hour debate in the Assembly.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel responded to the debate before the motion was defeated. Leader of Opposition Dharam Lal Kaushik tabled the charge sheet in the House.
Chhattisgarh no-confidence motion: The BJP's debate
Initiating the debate, senior BJP MLA Brijmohan Agrawal hit out at the Congress government and said the no-trust motion was brought as a minister had himself expressed no confidence in chief minister Baghel.
Neither the CM has confidence in his cabinet colleagues, nor the administration has faith in the government, he claimed.
"Why didn't the chief minister expel that minister? The CM does not have the courage. Even the minister did not have courage and wanted to stick to the cabinet," Agrawal claimed.
He was referring to minister TS Singh Deo, who on July 16 resigned from the panchayat and rural development department, one of the four portfolios held by him, claiming he was being sidelined.
In a four-page letter to the chief minister, Singh Deo had cited various reasons saying he was unable to fulfill targets of the department as per the vision of the Jan Ghoshna Patra (poll manifesto), given the "current scenario" and expressed disappointment over the non-implementation of.
Singh Deo remained absent in the Assembly during the ongoing monsoon session.
Agrawal claimed that the state was reeling under a debt of Rs 1.75 lakh crore as a result of poor financial management.
Citing claims made by the minister in his letter to the CM, Agrawal alleged that the state government snatched 18 lakh houses of the poor, to whom they were entitled under the Prime Minister Aawas Yojana (PMAY) as funds under the state's share were not provided for the scheme.
He said a committee headed by the chief secretary was constituted to approve the works of the panchayat department against the Rule of Business.
"How can officials grant a nod to the works approved by a minister?" he asked.
He also levelled allegations against the government on several fronts.
Amid interruptions by the ruling party members, Agrawal said he has been a member of the assembly for the last 33 years and had participated in at least 10 debates on the no-confidence motion although he had never faced this kind of disruption.
Chhattisgarh no-confidence motion: The Congress' claims
Refuting the charges, Chhattisgarh Congress chief and MLA Mohan Markam said the state government has fulfilled 30 out of its 36 poll promises in the last three-and-a-half years.
He highlighted the government's achievements and said the Congress government had waived the loans of farmers, provided Rs 2,500 per quintal to farmers against procuring their paddy on support price.
He claimed that the unemployment rate has significantly declined in the state.
He alleged that the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) indulged in dividing the people and society.
Agriculture Minister Ravindra Choubey said the faith of people in the Congress government has grown as the government has done what it has promised.
(With inputs from PTI)
