Congress to boycott first day of winter session of Chhattisgarh assembly on Dec 14, says CLP leader

Raipur, Dec 12 (PTI) A senior Congress leader on Friday said his party will boycott the first day of the winter session of the Chhattisgarh legislative assembly, scheduled to begin on December 14.

Congress Legislative Party leader Charan Das Mahant said his partyCongress MLAs will not attend the House on the opening day on December 14 as only discussion on "Chhattisgarh Vision-2047" has been listed for the day.

"Congress is going to hold a major rally, "Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod" in Delhi on December 14. The winter session of the state assembly will begin from the same day. There will be no discussion on questions, call attention motions, or adjournment motion notices in the assembly on the first day as there will only be discussion on the state's Vision document 2047. So, we have decided that none of us will attend it," Mahant told reporters.

He was speaking after chairing the Congress legislature party meeting here at Rajiv Bhavan, the party office.

The Vision 2047 document is nothing but a bunch of lies, and no common people seem to benefit from it. It is for industrialists, not for our people. In the name of vision, we are being shown a picture through binoculars, he said, targeting the state BJP government.

Calling the Vision-2047 agenda "hollow", Mahant alleged that while the government talks about creating a green state, forests in Hasdeo and Bastar are being destroyed.

"This isn't 'Amrit Kaal', this is 'Bhramit Kaal' (a misleading phase). People need 'bhojan' (food), not vision (documents)," he added.

The CLP meeting also discussed a range of issues the party plans to flag during the four-day session, including alleged mismanagement in paddy procurement, deteriorating law and order, and irregularities in the Food and Forest departments, as well as the government's response to recent industrial incidents, he said.

Former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, state Congress president Deepak Baij, and several party MLAs were present at the meeting.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai termed the Congress' decision to boycott the first day of the session a "personal matter" of the party, adding that the opposition appeared frustrated and "issue-less".

There is a need for a strong opposition (in democracy). But Congress has become so frustrated with the loss in elections one after another. It has become issueless and talks without facts, Sai said. PTI TKP NP