Raipur: The first day of the Monsoon session of Chhattisgarh Assembly witnessed uproarious scenes with the Opposition Congress demanding discussion on the alleged scam in state civil supplies department and also seeking a CBI probe into it.
Amid din, the Assembly was adjourned twice as Congress was adamant over its demand to take up the issue for discussion through an adjournment motion notice in the House.
As the business of the House was underway after the question hour, state Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel raised the matter of corruption in the state Civil Supplies Corporation unearthed by Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) in February this year seeking a discussion over it by moving an adjournment motion notice.
"The focus of the entire country is on Chhattisgarh due to the scam in civil supplies department and the investigation agency ACB is trying to save prominent people involved in the scam," Baghel said.
Countering his charges, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ajay Chandrakar said the ACB had already filed a charge sheet in a local court in this connection and since the matter is sub-judice there could be no discussion in the House.
Supporting Chandrakar, state Higher Education Minister Premprakash Pandey said only "baseless" charges were being levelled by the Congress in the adjournment motion notice.
Enraged over the minister's statement, the Leader of Opposition in Assembly T S Singhdeo and Baghel charged that farmers suffered due to corruption in civil supplies department and discussion on it was imperative.
However, Assembly Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal dismissed the motion stating that the matter was sub-judice.
"Congress members have only levelled charges rather than pointing to any concrete lapses on the part of the government in the motion notice. Since the matter is sub-judice, it can't be taken up for a discussion," he said.
The opposition members, in their adjournment motion notice, have said that names of senior officials and office-bearers were removed by the ACB from the challan it had issued in connection with the civil supplies scam, he added.
