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Tag: Chhattisgarh BJP

  • BJP alleges ‘scam’ in distribution of free rice in Chhattisgarh

    By PTI

    RAIPUR: The opposition BJP in Chhattisgarh on Monday accused the Congress government of committing irregularities in distribution of free rice supplied by the Centre to the state for PDS beneficiaries under a welfare scheme in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The state government, however, denied the charges and said it has been distributing more rice than the allocation made by the Centre under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).

    “The Congress government has committed a big scam in the distribution of rice sent by the Narendra Modi government during the COVID-19 pandemic,” alleged state BJP president Vishnudeo Sai and Leader of Opposition Dharamlal Kaushik at a joint press conference here.

    “An additional allocation of 1.385 lakh tonnes of rice is being made every month by the Centre under the PMGKAY. At the rate of 5 kg rice per person per month, over 2 crore people of the state should benefit from the additional allocation. But the actual benefit is reaching only one third of the eligible beneficiaries,” they claimed.

    Chhattisgarh has received more than 7 lakh metric tonnes of rice additionally for families which hold priority group ration cards for seven months (May to November this year), but the stock is not being distributed properly to the needy households, Kaushik claimed, alleging irregularities in distribution.

    Claiming it to be a “scam worth several lakhs of rupees”, the BJP leaders demanded a high-level probe.

    The BJP leaders demanded that the additional rice allotted by the Centre be made available to the beneficiaries and families deprived of their quota of the foodgrain be given cash as compensation.

    The BJP will stage protests at all PDS ration shops in the state on October 7 and 8 if its demands were not fulfilled, they said.

    Refuting the allegations, the state government, in a statement, said, Free rice is being distributed by the Chhattisgarh government to 58.91 lakh families of the state from May this year, which will continue till November. The Government of India has been providing free rice to only 51.20 lakh Antyodaya and priority ration card holder families in the state under the PMGKAY”.

    The Congress government claimed the state has been distributing more rice than what it has been receiving from the Centre.

    “The state government has been distributing more rice than the allocation received from the Centre. The subsidy for rice being distributed additionally is being borne by the state government,” said the release issued by the public relations department.

    From May to September this year, the Centre has allocated 10.78 lakh tonnes of rice under the National Food Security Act and under the PMGKAY, out of which 10.56 lakh tonnes have been distributed to eligible families, it said.

    During this period, 1.12 lakh tonnes of free rice have been distributed to the additional ration card holders, whose expenditure is being borne by the state government, the release said.

    Besides, 1.30 lakh tonnes of rice have been distributed to the Above Poverty Line (APL) families at concessional rates, the subsidy of which is also being borne by the state government, it said.

  • BJP rakes up religious conversion in Chhattisgarh, will launch statewide ‘Halla Bol’ 

    By Express News Service

    RAIPUR: The opposition BJP kick-off ‘Halla Bol’ against the Chhattisgarh government over the alleged rising incidents of ‘religious conversion’ from Saturday.

    With about two years remaining for the Assembly polls, the issue of religious conversion snowballed into a major controversy following the Sukma SP’s assertion in July this year that the Christian missionaries were involved in encouraging the practice.

    The BJP claimed that considerable religious conversions are being carried out under the shelter of the state government.

    The BJP MPs, MLAs, senior leaders, and cadres organised a ‘peace foot march’ against the alleged religious conversion from Azad Chowk to Rajbhawan where they submitted a memorandum to Governor Anusuiya Uike.

    ALSO READ | Anti-Brahmin remarks case: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel’s father granted bail

    “We have expressed our genuine concern with the Governor over the increasing incidents of religious conversion, and those involved in it are getting the state shelter in Chhattisgarh”, said Raman Singh, the former chief minister and BJP national vice-president.

    The BJP state president Vishnu Deo Sai said that earlier only the tribals were lured into religious conversion but now every segment of the population is being targeted right from the capital Raipur to the remote tribal belts. “So we have urged the intervention of the Governor to ensure a strict ban over the incidents of religious conversion”, said Brijmohan Agrawal, senior BJP legislator.

    The opposition has further planned to organise demonstrations outside the police station in every district with the demand to “put a check on the religious conversion” from Sunday. On September 13-14 the BJP leaders and cadres will continue their protest at the block level.

    The ruling Congress party however called the BJP’s allegation as a desperate attempt to regain the lost ground.

    “My government will take prompt action against anyone found involved in forced religious conversion. Not just the highest number of religious conversions but more churches were built when the BJP was in power in Chhattisgarh”, averred the chief minister Bhupesh Baghel in response to the BJP’s protest.

    “The opposition now lacks issues against the state government and is trying to exploit the sentiments of the people as a last-ditch effort to revive their political fortune”, claimed Shailesh Nitin Trivedi, chairman, Congress media cell.

  • Chhattisgarh BJP’s new strategy ‘Avedan-Nivedan-Andolan’ to corner Congress government

    By Express News Service

    RAIPUR: The opposition BJP has chalked out a plan of action against the ruling Congress government through a three-pronged strategy, targeting it over alleged failures in governance and the nonfulfillment of election promises.

    The saffron party stated that Congress made several promises in its manifesto ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections but couldn’t keep its commitment to fulfill many of the pledges during the past 25 months after coming into power.

    Senior party leaders Brijmohan Agarwal and Rajesh Munnat, who were ministers during the BJP’s regime, said that the opposition has devised its action plan to highlight those promises that the Bhupesh Baghel government has not fulfilled besides the governance failure in Chhattisgarh.

    “Congress government has failed to deliver the promises it made to the people. So to remind them, we will first submit our plea (Avedan) to the state on the ‘unfulfilled’ promises. Later will urge (Nivedan) to comply with poll pledges the Congress made in its manifesto. And if all these didn’t yield to effective results, the party will launch aggressive protest and demonstration (Andolan) across the state”, the BJP leaders affirmed while revealing the three approaches to target the government. The BJP castigated the state government for not heeding to the people’s aspirations.

    The Congress party however countered that there were 36 targets earmarked in their manifesto and many have been fulfilled.

    “The Bhupesh Baghel government has successfully achieved over fifty percent of the promises in just two and a half year. We are committed to carry out the remaining promises too in future”, said Shailesh Nitin Trivedi, chairman Congress media cell.