Congress moves no-confidence motion against Sai government in Chhattisgarh Assembly

A view of the Chhattisgarh assembly in Raipur. File | Photo credit: PTI

An assembly in Chhattisgarh on Friday began a debate on the Congress’ no-confidence motion against the Vishnu Deo Sai-led BJP government. During the debate, the opposition targeted the government with a 136-point charge sheet covering a wide range of issues, including mining, law and order and tribal rights.

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Charan Das Mahant said the rationale for point 136 was that the government had completed 135 weeks in office and entered the 136th week.

Before starting the discussion, Mr. Mahant said that the BJP government had failed on many fronts and had betrayed the farmers, tribals, youth and women during its tenure.

At the start of his speech, Mr. Mahant raised the issue of mining in the Hasdeo Arand forest in north Chhattisgarh and alleged that the state government was facilitating deforestation and coal mining in the ecologically sensitive area. He said despite a resolution passed unanimously by the Assembly in July 2022 calling for the abolition of coal blocks in Hasdeo Arand, mining continues in the forested area, often described as the “lungs of central India”. He further alleged that the state is allowing its forests to be destroyed at the behest of industrialists from Delhi and Rajasthan.

Even as opposition MLAs highlighted issues such as the plight of farmers, crimes against women and erosion of tribal rights, senior BJP MLAs including Dharam Lal Kaushik and Ajay Chandrakar faced criticism pointing to the shortcomings of the previous Congress government in the state.

Pointing out the ruling party’s repeated references to the previous government, Congress MLA Raghvendra Singh said there was a sense of “chronoportation” or time travel as current issues were overshadowed by discussions of the past. He also expressed concern over the poor state of public schools and the spread of substance abuse in the state.

Terming the no-confidence motion unnecessary, senior BJP minister Ramvichar Netam said it was moved in haste and resulted in wasting the time of the House. Mr. Mahant interjected and asked if the motion was pointless and devoid of substance why the ruling party MLAs were spending a lot of time making long speeches during the debate on it.

The debate lasted until 20:00 and was supposed to last until late in the evening.

Published – 18 Jul 2026 04:20 IST