Put under house arrest to stop from protesting, Chhattisgarh BJP leader alleges

Raipur, Oct 4 (PTI) BJP leader and former Chhattisgarh minister Nanki Ram Kanwar on Saturday alleged that he was placed under house arrest to stop him from staging a protest outside Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai's residence, demanding removal of a district collector.

Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who holds the Home portfolio, denied that he was put under house arrest. Kanwar later returned to Korba after BJP leaders met him in the evening.

Kanwar (82), a tribal leader, is a former MLA from Rampur assembly seat in Korba district and was home minister from 2008 to 2013 during the Raman Singh-led BJP government.

"There can be no question of house arrest. Such things do not happen with a senior leader like him. He is our leader. We will listen to whatever his instruction is, and what is appropriate will be done. The Hon'ble Chief Minister himself is concerned," Sharma told the media.

On September 22, Kanwar had written a letter to CM Sai, making several allegations against Korba Collector Ajit Vasant and demanding his transfer, warning of a protest otherwise.

On Friday, Kanwar and his supporters arrived at a community hall in Raipur's Tatibandh area. When they attempted to leave to stage the protest on Saturday afternoon, district administration and police officials allegedly stopped them and locked the gate.

A visibly irate Kanwar later spoke with reporters from inside the main gate, accusing the government of shielding the officer.

"I am demanding the collector's transfer. These people (the administration) have forcibly stopped me. It appears they have arrested me but are refusing to acknowledge it," Kanwar said.

"Entire houses in a village were demolished without providing compensation. Is this how the law works under this government? When you go to the Collector with a problem, he asks why you bring people along. Should we go to the chief minister or prime minister?" he asked.

He spoke to CM Sai as well as state BJP president Kiran Singh Deo but they did not pay heed to his demand, Kanwar claimed.

"People are watching what our government is doing. People are saying we won't get more than 10 seats (in the next assembly elections)," he said.

Party sources said that Kanwar met BJP leaders in the evening after they returned from an event of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Jagdalpur city. Kanwar then returned to Korba.

The opposition Congress targeted the government over the incident.

Former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel accused the BJP of trying to suppress the voice of tribals.

"Wow! Amit Shah Ji! At the very moment when the country's Home Minister has arrived in Bastar to take stock of the arrangements, at exactly that same time, the senior tribal BJP leader, former Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar Ji, has been placed under "house arrest" in Raipur. This shows that the BJP wants to suppress the voice of the tribals, even if it arises from within the BJP itself," the Congress leader said in a post on X. PTI TKP KRK