Raipur
In a significant development, 120 surrendered Naxalites visited the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly on Friday to observe the ongoing session. Among them were Satish alias Rupesh, a former Central Committee Member who carried a ₹1 crore reward, and Chaitu, an accused mastermind of the 2013 Jhiram Valley attack.
The former insurgents had attended a dinner hosted by Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma at his residence a day earlier. They later met Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, cabinet ministers, and MLAs outside the Assembly premises. Deputy CM Sharma introduced them to Finance Minister OP Choudhary, Agriculture Minister Ramvichar Netam, and BJP State President Kiran Singhdeo.
Heated Exchanges Over Exam Irregularities
Inside the House, Treasury Bench MLAs Pramod Minj, Ajay Chandrakar, and Rikesh Sen raised a calling attention motion regarding students being deprived of exam centres and incidents of cheating.
The legislators highlighted that several students had to travel up to 15 kilometres to appear for examinations, calling it a violation of central guidelines. School Education Minister Gajendra Yadav assured the House that corrective measures would be implemented from the next academic session.
Opposition Walks Out Twice
The Assembly witnessed two walkouts by Congress legislators following heated exchanges.
The first occurred during a discussion on illegal fly ash dumping in Raigad district. Finance Minister OP Choudhary claimed that enforcement actions under the current government were ten times higher than during the previous administration. Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel objected to the claim, leading to uproar and a walkout by the Opposition.
UThe second walkout took place when MLA Sangeeta Sinha sought approval for development works worth ₹18 crore. Minister Choudhary clarified that such approvals follow departmental procedures and cannot be announced on the floor of the House. Opposition members raised slogans before exiting the chamber.
Focus on Agricultural Training
MLA Punnulal Mohle sought details about the expenditure and benefits of hybrid crop training provided to 900 farmers. Agriculture Minister Ramvichar Netam stated that the initiative aimed to increase crop yield and improve farmers’ income.
Responding to concerns about the evaluation of fertilisers and seeds distributed to beneficiaries, the Minister acknowledged the need for better ground-level monitoring and assured that stronger evaluation mechanisms would be implemented.
