Chhattisgarh Assembly: Sai Govt Defeats No-Confidence Motion after 14-Hour Debate

The BJP government led by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai defeated the Congress’s no-confidence motion in the Chhattisgarh assembly in the wee hours of Saturday, following a marathon 14-hour debate that witnessed intense clashes over governance, corruption, and law and order issues.

The five-day monsoon session concluded with a voice vote defeating the motion, as the treasury benches fended off the Opposition party’s 136-point chargesheet alleging the government’s failures towards farmers, tribals, youth and women.

As many as 17 legislators, including Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, participated in the debate, which began post noon on Friday and concluded shortly after 2.30 am on Saturday.

The Congress opened the attack by tabling a 136-point chargesheet, alleging that the BJP government had failed farmers, tribals, youth and women during its two-and-a-half years in office.

Replying to the debate, Sai dismissed the motion as “hollow, baseless and a political drama”.

He remarked that if there were a PhD course in “lying and corruption”, Congress members would be specialists.

Sai questioned whether the motion was directed against the three crore people of Chhattisgarh who elected the BJP to power in 2023 and subsequently backed the party in Lok Sabha and local body elections.

“Perhaps they cannot digest the fact that the son of a tribal farmer from a village is today the chief minister,” he said.

He further accused the Congress of using tribals as a vote bank during its decades in power at the Centre and in various states, claiming that it was the BJP that had given the community respect and representation.

Referring to the previous government’s leadership tussle, he mocked the “raja” (Bhupesh Baghel) and “maharaja” (TS Singh Deo) dynamic, asserting that the state’s governance suffered due to their internal infighting.

He also expressed confidence that the BJP will win more than 70 seats in the next assembly elections.

Asserting that his government’s words and actions are consistent, Sai highlighted its achievements, including the procurement of paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal for 25 lakh farmers, the disbursement of Rs 3,716 crore in pending bonuses, doubling of irrigation capacity and administrative approval for projects worth more than Rs 11,000 crore.

He also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and state security forces for driving Maoists out of Bastar, and said that his government was committed to the region’s development.

Calling the motion “a bundle of falsehoods”, Sai said it was merely “political theatrics”.

Supporting the motion, former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel alleged that the state was being run by an “invisible force”, citing tree felling in the Hasdeo forest region a few days before the BJP assumed office in December 2023.

“This suggests that an invisible force had already started running the affairs of Chhattisgarh (after the BJP won the election). On whose orders did it happen? Who instructed the officer concerned to grant permission for tree felling? Since then, the same pattern has continued,” he alleged.

Even today, no one knows who is actually running the government, he claimed, adding that even BJP workers do not know which minister, official or authority they should approach.

When a BJP member interjected, recalling that similar questions had been raised during the tenure of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Baghel defended the late leader and said he was respected even by the President of the United States.

“Today, the situation is such that the US President has insulted our prime minister 75 times, and in doing so, has insulted the country as well. It pains us to hear the kind of remarks being made about our prime minister,” he alleged.

Baghel further targeted the government over law and order and the implementation of the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) (PESA) Act.

He alleged that forest land in Raigarh’s Tamnar district was evacuated for industries under police protection, and warned that while Naxalism has receded, “land mafias” are now exploiting Bastar’s mineral wealth.

“Naxals may be gone, but land mafias have entered. That is why people in Bastar are worried,” the Congress leader claimed.

He further accused the BJP of failing to fulfil several election promises, including doubling the wages of daily wage workers and providing LPG cylinders at Rs 500.

Opening the discussion, Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant said the government had completed 135 weeks in office and entered its 136th week, and hence, the Opposition had prepared a 136-point chargesheet documenting the ruling dispensation’s “failures”.

Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant argued that every week of the BJP’s tenure had brought “new conspiracies” against farmers, tribals and women.

He alleged widespread irregularities, including illegal sand mining, skewed land acquisition, and corruption in the Bharatmala highway project.

Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma countered the Congress’s allegations, claiming that the previous government was involved in several scams, including the excise, coal and CGPSC recruitment scams.

Sharma’s speech triggered a heated exchange after he claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared a social media post hailing slain Naxal commander Hidma, leading to an uproar that forced the Speaker to adjourn the House briefly.

Following the voice vote, Speaker Raman Singh adjourned the House sine die.

The winter session is expected to begin in the second week of December.