Treasury rejects Opposition demand for debate on Ram Mandir donations; House adjourned amid uproar
Raipur:
The opening day of the five-day Monsoon Session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly descended into chaos on Monday as the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress clashed over alleged irregularities in donations collected for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, forcing the House to be adjourned for the day.
The disruption began during Zero Hour when Congress MLAs, led by Leader of the Opposition Dr Charan Das Mahant, entered the House carrying posters alleging misappropriation of Ram Mandir donations. Moving an adjournment motion, Mahant sought a discussion on the issue, alleging that the faith of millions of devotees had been betrayed.
“People donated their hard-earned money for the construction of the Ram Mandir. Their faith and trust have been cheated,” Mahant said.
Objecting to the demand, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ajay Chandrakar said the issue neither fell within the jurisdiction of the Chhattisgarh government nor the Assembly and, therefore, could not be discussed in the House.
Assembly Speaker Dr Raman Singh rejected the adjournment notices submitted by Congress MLAs, ruling that the matter did not pertain to Chhattisgarh. However, Opposition members continued their protest, prompting the Speaker to adjourn the proceedings for five minutes.
When the House reassembled, the deadlock continued with sloganeering from both the treasury and Opposition benches. Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel alleged that people from Chhattisgarh had also contributed to the Ram Mandir construction and claimed that the donations had been “looted“, drawing strong objections from the ruling BJP.
With neither side relenting, the Speaker adjourned the House for the day till Tuesday.
NEP, teacher education courses raised during Question Hour
Earlier, during Question Hour, BJP MLA Lata Usendi raised concerns over the non-availability of B.Ed. and D.Ed. courses at Shaheed Mahendra Karma Vishwavidyalaya in Kondagaon and sought details about vacant teaching posts. She also questioned the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in the state.
Replying to the queries, Higher Education Minister Tank Ram Verma said the NEP had been implemented across all universities and colleges in Chhattisgarh. He added that the government had constituted a task force to examine B.Ed. and D.Ed. colleges and that there was a proposal to introduce the courses in 13 colleges.
House pays tribute to Teejan Bai
The session began with members paying tributes to Padma Vibhushan awardee and renowned Pandavani exponent Teejan Bai, who passed away recently.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said Teejan Bai’s life was marked by struggle and that her Pandavani performances had brought global recognition to Chhattisgarh’s rich cultural heritage. He said her legacy would continue to inspire future generations.
Leader of the Opposition Dr Charan Das Mahant described her as an artist who was close to the hearts of the people and recalled that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had played a significant role in bringing her talent to national prominence.
The House observed a five-minute adjournment as a mark of respect.
Congress to move no-confidence motion
The Congress is scheduled to move a no-confidence motion against the BJP government on Tuesday. Although the motion is unlikely to succeed given the BJP’s comfortable majority in the 90-member Assembly, the Opposition is expected to use the debate to target the government over a range of governance issues, setting the stage for another stormy day in the House.
