From Assembly to streets, Congress raises law and order issue in Chhattisgarh

Opposition Congress protests escalating law and order issues in Chhattisgarh, demanding action in State Assembly session.

Expressing concerns over the “escalating law and order issue in Chhattisgarh”, the Opposition Congress party staged a street protest in capital Raipur while concurrently tabling an adjournment motion over the subject in the State Assembly on Wednesday. 

Raising last month’s Arang incident in which three cattle transporters died after being chased by a bunch of youth and the Balodabazar arson incident in its adjournment motion, the Opposition party submitted that a dangerous situation of law and order was building up. It cited several other recent cases and its members said that due to this working style of the police, there was terror among the common citizens and the morale of the criminals was high.  

“This is the first occasion after the establishment of the State when the honourable High Court of the State commented adversely on the law and order of the State and asked whether there is anything called law in the State or not. Chain snatching, stabbing, robbery in the capital, rape of girls in the tribal hostels of the government in the forest areas of the State are happening,” the motion read. 

Meanwhile, the party had already announced a gherao of the State Assembly and its workers from across the State reached Raipur and attempted to march towards the Assembly building on the outskirts of the city amidst heavy police deployment. The police even used water cannons on Congress activists as they tried to break down a barricade in Lodhi Para Chowk. Senior Congress leaders including AICC incharge for Chhattisgarh, Sachin Pilot, former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Chhattisgarh Congress unit president Deepak Baij participated in the protest. 

“The law and order situation has collapsed in Chhattisgarh where the graph of crimes, including rape, murder, and loot is going high,” Mr. Pilot told journalists.

Action shifted to the Assembly after 3 p.m. when Speaker Raman Singh allowed the discussion on the admissibility of the adjournment motion notice. Several Opposition MLAs, including leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant criticised the government on the issue and emphasised that a discussion was needed to reach a solution. 

In his reply, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who handles the Home portfolio, compared heinous crimes in the BJP regime so far with incidents of rapes, murders and other offences occurred in the previous Congress government, claiming that those had declined under the new government. Investigation is underway into the incident of violence in Balodabazar, he added.