Yogesh Mishra

Terming the flood relief package provided by the government to the affected people insufficient, the Congress on Thursday said the paltry amount of Rs 3000 was not even enough to repair the damaged houses. “How come the government expects from the flood victims to return to normal life with the help of such an iota of compensation,” asked the team of Congress leaders comprising PCC president Nandkumar Patel, Union Minister for Agriculture and Food Processing Charandas Mahant and Orissa MP and state Congress incharge secretary Bhakt Charandas after touring the flood-affected areas of the state.

The trio said the government was distributing relief package without assessing the loss incurred by the flood-hit people.

“Heavy rains wrecked havoc in many parts of the state. People of about 22 villages in Raigarh district incurred huge losses in terms of properties, livestock and crops due to destructive flood. Similar is the condition of more than half a dozen villages of Janjgir-Champa district. With no work for subsistence, people are compelled to live in extreme poverty. Still, the government wants to shirk its responsibility by distributing Rs 3000,” said the Congress leaders.

They informed that the government had simply distributed the cheques and the flood victims were still waiting to get the amount in hand.

Bhakt Charandas informed that he would submit the team’s comprehensive report to the high command. He said a Central inspection team would also arrive in the state to take stock of the flood-hit regions.

Choubey alleges tendering scam in Mandi Board

Leader of the opposition in state Assembly Ravindra Choubey on Thursday alleged that irregularities prevailed in tendering process of Chhattisgarh State Mandi Board and demanded probe into the matter from Chief Minister Raman Singh.

“The board invited tenders for construction of platforms and godowns at an estimated cost of Rs 20 crore on July 22, 2011. Last date to submit the tender forms was September 13, 2011. On September 22, the tenders were opened but it was learnt that the corrupt officials are negotiating from the higher bidders from Raipur and Bastar districts ignoring the lower bidders from other districts,” Choubey said.

“There is an ugly past of these corrupt officials who had dented the government exchequer by manipulating the documents and consequently affecting the quality of the work. Similar attempts were being made again and if the government would not awake timely then another major work would be carried out without norms by an ineligible contractor,” Choubey said.

Choubey demands protection for endangered animals

Expressing his concern over the killing of large number of wild animals across the state, leader of the opposition in Vidhan Sabha Ravindra Choubey on Thursday demanded from the Chief Minister Raman Singh to quickly take measures to protect the animals, especially endangered species check trafficking of their body parts.

“The wild animals are not even safe in the reserved forests. The dead bodies of endangered animals are recovered on daily basis. Surely gang of hunters and smugglers is active in the state and killing the wild animals in large number to take commercial benefit of their body parts. To protect these animals, efforts are being made at global level. The Centre too is extending adequate help to the state governments. But in Chhattisgarh, wild animals are insecure owing to indifference of the BJP government,” Choubey said in his letter to the CM.

He also blamed the Forest officials for killing of wild animals. “Such things had not happened if the officials would have shown alertness. The image of the forest-rich state with varied fauna has really been sullied. The animal lovers are upset with the government’s attitude. Even, the rest of the world is responding sharply over the massive killings of animals in the state,” Choubey said.

He alleged that majority of the senior Forest officials had confined their activities to capital city and its ambience and were barely concerned about protection of animals in forests stretching in maximum part of the state.

“The government must take prompt action against these officials and make effective strategy to prevent killing of animals and smuggling of their body parts,” he demanded.

Jogi: Misuse of Central funds checked Bastar growth

Blaming the government for disturbances in Bastar, senior Congress leader and MLA Ajit Jogi on Thursday said people of the region were disadvantaged due to misuse of Central funds. “The BJP government did the least for the Bastarians in the past seven years. It even posed non-seriousness in implementing the Central schemes in the tribal region. Corruption was the major factor that kept the locals deprived of the benefits they deserved,” said Jogi.

“The government sanctioned Rs 135 crore for development of Aboojhmad only when the people lost their patience and resorted to agitation to get the basic facilities,” he added.

Jogi said the government’s wrong policies bolstered naxals and compelled the tribals to migrate. “The government did not even take initiative to develop coordination with the local public representatives as it could have paved the path of development in the region,” he said.

Ridiculing the ruling party for projecting its financial management system as prototype in the country, Jogi said it could make such claims only on the basis of the Central funds.

“Even the government could boast of high GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate because of enormous production of the state’s cottage industries and the other businesses as well,” he said.

Jogi felt that the tribal-rich state still requires huge funds for development and the government must demand from the Centre to accord special economic status to Chhattisgarh. “With more Central funds, the government would have to do proper planning to ensure that the people living in the distant places get benefitted by the schemes meant for them,” he said.

Cong eyes BJP stronghold VS constituencies

Among its host of strategies to win next elections (both Assembly and general), now Congress is planning to increase its presence in BJP stronghold Vidhan Sabha (VS) constituencies. The assignment will be given to the party’s existing MLAs who would be given charge of their adjoining Assembly seats so that they could not only remain focus in their own areas but could also attempt to change the voting proportion in favour of Congress before polls.

The Congress mulled over its past poll defeats to find lacunae in its preparations. The party observed that it had rapidly lost its popularity in the urban and forest-rich regions and hence the poll outcomes in 2008 and 2009 went against it. On the basis of previous voting figures, the party’s state incharge BK Hariprasada and other senior leaders decided to apply the formula to dent the BJP bastion Assembly seats.

Among the ninety VS seats, the BJP holds 50 and Congress has 38. Two seats belong to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). There is also one nominated VS member from the ruling party.

In the recent past, the Congress has succeeded in winning civic body elections in key urban areas, i.e. Raipur, Bilaspur, Bhilai and Rajnandgaon. The party gained confidence from these victories, although it failed to maintain the rhythm in the successive VS by-polls.

The consistent ups and downs in the party performance in elections compelled Hariprasada to entrust additional job to the existing legislators of maximising the voting percentage of Congress in BJP stronghold areas.

To increase its domain and chalk out strategies to continuously raise issues against BJP at local level, the party has already started organising block-level meetings. Soon, similar meetings would be held at VS levels. The Congress has also intensified its dharna and agitation programmes.

RSU signs with TPIPRD

For the first time, Pt Ravishankar Shukla (RSU) University has signed MoU with government owned Thakur Pyarelal Institute of Panchayat and Rural Development (TPIPRD) on Wednesday. According to the pact, the varsity’s Center for Regional Studies and Research (CRSR) would commence academic and students’ exchange programmes for research and certificate courses pertaining to rural development and panchayat. The CRSR head Professor OP Verma informed that the research scholars would also get opportunity to do practical training in rural belts under different courses. Verma informed that the government would have access to wide range of research works regarding rural development and panchayat and it would be able to frame better plan for the benefit of villagers accordingly.

Farmers inform Mahant about their problems

The farmers of Dharsiva development block on Wednesday met the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Charandas Mahant and informed him about their problems emerged in wake of heavy rains which ruined majority of their crops. A delegation of farmers from Dharsiva, Kura, Padarbhatta, Chikhli, Pathri and Silyari sought help from the minister so that their losses could be compensated to a large extent. Mahant asked Block Congress Committee to prepare an estimated report of the loss incurred by the farmers of the region and submit it to the PCC.

Wild animals not safe in state: Congress

The Congress has alleged that wild animals of the state were not safe and the government was not taking any initiative to protect them. The DCC president Inderchand Dhariwal, vice president Madanlal Taleda and other leaders on Wednesday said that many wild animals had been killed by people in the recent past owing to wrong forest management of the government. They said the illegal hunting too was rising in state forests.

“The recent killing of a leopard was a glaring example of the government’s apathy towards the wild animals. Another leopard was killed by the hunters near a village in Balodabazar lately. The mysterious death of a wild elephant in Dharamjaigarh is still a puzzle for the government. A couple of months ago, a leopard was poisoned in the jungles of Kawardha district. When will the government awake,” asked the Congress leaders.

Patel to leave for Delhi today

The PCC president Nandkumar Patel will leave for New Delhi on Thursday. According to information, he will first meet state Congress incharge BK Hariprasada and give him a comprehensive report of the party activities. He will also discuss with Hariprasada about the prospective names of remaining DCC president posts before submitting the final list to state unit’s chief returning officer (CRO) Viplove Thakur and head of the party’s Central Election Authority (CEA) Oscar Fernandes on September 30. According to information, Patel is also likely to discuss about the new organisational setup for the nine new districts of the state.

Patel pays tribute to Geetadevi Singh

The PCC president Nandkumar Patel, senior party leader Vidya Charan Shukla and other senior Congress leaders expressed sadness over sudden demise of former minister from Congress Geetadevi Singh and paid tribute to her on Wednesday. The PCC general secretary Subhash Sharma, Haji Sheikh Najimuddin and other office-bearers attended Singh’s final rituals, informed party spokesperson Jaswant Cladius.

Rs 1.41 cr sanctioned for 47 Aanganbadi centres

The government on Wednesday sanctioned Rs 1.41 crore for construction of new building in 47 Aanganbadi centres under Backward Regions Grant Fund in Rajnandgaon. The officials of Women and Child Development Department informed that the fund had been approved by Rajnandgaon zila panchayat.

Dongargarh janpad panchayat villagers meet CM

Villagers of Dongargarh janpad panchayat met Chief Minister Raman Singh at his residential office on September 27. The delegation informed the CM about the status of ongoing development works in their area and submitted a memorandum to him with a couple of demands. The delegation was comprised of Dongargarh janpad panchayat president Pushpa Sahu, former president of Rajnandgaon zila panchayat Bharat Verma, Ramsai Dadsena, Jayant Kumar Meshram, Devram Thakur, etc.

Delegation from Bagbahra pays courtesy visit to CM

A delegation of villagers from Bagbahra (Mahasamund district) paid courtesy visit to Chief Minister Raman Singh at his residential office on Tuesday night. On the occasion, the delegation informed the CM about the problems related to their region and sought his help. The delegation was led by former MLA Preetam Diwan and was comprised of zila panchayat member Thansingh Diwan, janpad member Pavan Chandrakar, Naresh Chandrakar, Radheshyam Sahu, Sunil Agrawal, etc.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Congress produces evidential documents of SIL episode

A day after Congress alleged that the state government had returned Rs 17.35 crore to Shivnath Infrastructure Limited (SIL) after recovering the amount as a tax from it and then the Commercial Tax Minister Amar Agrawal challenged the opposition to produce evidence regarding it, the PCC president Nandkumar Patel on Saturday made the documental proofs public and said now either the minister should step down or the Chief Minister must remove him.

Producing about 22-page documental evidence, Patel said the government recovered Rs 17.35 crore from SIL owner Shakti Kumar Sancheti by attaching its properties and sealing his bank accounts. “The documents contain application given by the company to the government to return the amount and the minister’s reply in state Assembly on March 8, 2011 that no tax had been imposed on SIL,” informed Patel.

He said the construction of 19 km long Durg bypass road was done amidst 1999 to 2003 by the construction agency SIL. “The Commercial Tax Department was supposed to recover Rs 17.35 crore till 2005-06 for which it attached the properties of the company owner and sealed his 21 bank accounts. On September 15, 2011, the properties and the amount were returned to SIL,” said Patel.

“In 2006, the company’s name was changed. Why did the company changed its name? When there was no outstanding tax against the company then why did the department imposed such a huge amount on it? When the changed name of the company came into existence in 2007 then how can it complete the project before its existence? Certainly, in the entire episode, the government exchequer has been dented and the minister is responsible for it. Hence he should tender his resignation,” said Patel.

Cong demands from govt to reduce VAT, stages dharna

The Congress on Saturday staged day-long dharna against the government for not reducing Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and failing to curb rising crime in the state.

“The government only thinks about rich and elite class and hence it quickly reduced VAT on petrol used in airplanes from 25 percent to 4 percent. However, when the same gesture is expected from it on petrol used in motor vehicles, it refused. This indicates that it is not concerned about common people,” said former PCC president Dhanendra Sahu.

Party legislator Amitesh Shukla said if the government could distribute rice at Rs two per kg to the poor then it should also reduce VAT on petrol. “But this government is imposing Rs 18 on every litre of petrol as VAT which is injustice to the common people,” he said.

MLA Dr Renu Jogi said the BJP government was to be blamed for rising crime in the state. “The incidents like theft, decoity, rape and murder have increased in the past seven years and people are feeling insecure under BJP’s regime,” Jogi said. She further pointed out that the Congress-ruled states had reduced VAT on petrol and the BJP government in Chhattisgarh too should follow the suit to give relief to the people.

The dharna was also addressed by DCC president Inderchand Dhariwal, RMC Mayor Kiranmayi Nayak, Shailesh Nitin Trivedi, Iqbal Ahmed Rizvi, Ravindra Shukla, Shivnarayan Dwivedi, Youth Congress (YC) state president Uttam Vasudev, Suryamani Mishra, Ghanshyam Raju Tiwari, Sheikh Shakeel, Sharik Rais Khan, Pappu Banjare, Mamta Rai, Kalpana Patel, Radheshyam Vibhar and Dilip Chouhan.

On the occasion, large number of Congress leaders and members of YC, National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Pradesh Mahila Congress (PMC) and different cells were also present.

Govt indoor policy fails before outdoor naxal movement: Karma

Senior Congress leader and former leader of opposition in Vidhan Sabha Mahendra Karma on Saturday said that the government’s policies had completely failed in curbing rising naxal violence in the state. “Every month, Chief Minister Raman Singh and his officials frame new policies but none clicks as expected. This happens because the government lacks practical approach and clear vision to achieve the task. You cannot make a policy merely on the basis of assumptions and without knowing the practical reality,” Karma said.

He alleged that the government rather staked lives of thousands of innocent tribals and even jawans by not posing serious attitude to solve naxal problem. “The government has launched a directionless war against naxals. It should first ensure better coordination between the police, forces pressed in the naxal belts and local residents. Besides, it must fulfill the all the mandatory requisites of the jawans so that they could pursue their task more confidently,” Karma said.

“If the Home Department really wants to intensify its activities against naxals after rainy season as directed by the CM while convening a high-level meeting on September 21 then it should devise strategy on the basis of given circumstances,” Karma added.

The tribal leader says that Bastar has become ‘war zone’ due to government’s flimsy strategies against Maoists and resentment pervades in the region against the CM and his party.

Karma said the CM should apologise for failing to eradicate naxalism and must tender his resignation for being responsible to create anarchy in state.

Undeterred in adversity

A firebrand tribal minister is facing adverse winds nowadays. The opposition has charged host of allegations against his department regarding irregularities. But this minister does not appear discouraged. His supporters say he is the main tribal leader of the party and he does not fear anybody. His critics ask then why this fearless leader looked so desperate to give clarifications to the party’s state incharge recently when there was rumour of ‘portfolio reshuffle’ in the government. The supporters say no one can predict the future actions of a seasoned politician and the minister very well befits in that bracket. After all, one the chief minister candidate must possess versatile quality from aggressive to submissive, they said.

When you develop propensity to exaggerate…

A garment retailer-turned-industrialist lately discovered an environmentalist inside him. Exulted by self-finding, he decided to introduce his ‘nature-lover’ part to the remaining world. Hence, whenever he got any forum to speak, he never missed an opportunity to preach about environment. Recently, when he was giving significant inputs regarding environment preservation during a meeting, one of the attentive listeners asked from the industrialist whether he had done adequate plantation around his own factories or not and status of electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) in his units. Suddenly, the industrialist started stammering and left the event in the middle on pretext of some urgent work. Now, he avoids speaking on environment terming it a subject beyond his gamut.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Govt returned Rs 17.35 crore recovered amount to Shivnath Infrastructure Limited: Cong

The Congress has alleged that the state government has returned Rs 17.35 lakh to one construction agency after recovering the amount from it by attaching its properties and sealing its bank accounts. The PCC president Nandkumar Patel on Friday sought clarification from Chief Minister Raman Singh regarding the government’s sudden u-turn.

“The construction agency, Shivnath Infrastructure Limited (SIL), which got contract to construct 19 km long Durg bypass road earlier, was supposed to pay Rs 17.35 crore as sales tax to the government till 2005-06 but it did not comply. Consequently, the government attached the properties of the agency besides sealing its 21 bank accounts to recover the amount,” Patel informed.

“The twist in the tale came when BJP national president Nitin Gadkari came to Raipur in his maiden visit along with SIL owner Shakti Kumar Sancheti as the government returned the entire amount to the agency in next thirty days,” Patel said.

He further informed the official who issued directives to return amount to SIL had resigned. “The CM must answer what forces compelled him to return the tax amount to SIL. The entire episode is actually connected to public money and the government is answerable for all its activities,” Patel added.

Patel rebukes dissenting corporators

The PCC president Nandkumar Patel on Friday rebuked the dissenting RMC corporators who had recently created embarrassing situation before Mayor Kiranmayi Nayak by opposing her decisions overtly.

Patel called these corporators at his residence to teach them discipline. Nayak was not invited in the meeting. Patel asked the corporators to stop entangling in factionalism and show united strength in the RMC. He further asked them to avoid giving controversial statements in public and advised to sort out differences amicably.

Patel made it apparent that the party was focussed to its mission 2013 and would not tolerate any indiscipline at any level. He asked the corporators to intensify their filed works and expand the domain of the party.

He further tipped the corporators to continue opposing tax hike done by the state government by propagating it as imposition on the common people. Notably, the government has increased property and aggregate taxes which are being recovered through civic bodies. Even sanitation tax is also being taken and now the civic bodies have been asked to take waste tax (i.e. tax against lifting garbage/waste).

YC gheraos district hospital

With its demands to provide basic medical facilities to the district hospital, the Youth Congress (YC) on Friday gheraoed the hospital and sloganeered against Chief Minister Raman Singh and Health Minister Amar Agrawal.

“The CM is responsible for anarchy prevailed in the district hospital as being a doctor, he should have at least taken initiatives to improve health facilities in the capital and rest of the state,” said the president of YC’s Raipur North Vidhan Sabha Sunil Kukreja.

“There are problems galore in this hospital from insanitation to lack of health infrastructure. Surely, the inconsiderate hospital authorities and the government are to be blamed for not showing commitment to improve the hospital condition,” he added.

Kukreja warned the government of launching aggressive agitation if the medical facilities in the hospital would not be improved in the coming days.

On the occasion, Kukreja was accompanied by Anwar Hussein, Kishan Bazari, Pankaj Jaggi, Sunny Khalsa, Soma Thakur, Bandhu Janghel, Amitesh Bhardwaj, Kamran Ansari, Emroz Ali, Mahesh Tandi, Akhilesh Sonwani, Rakesh Sahu, Chetan Baghel, Rafiq Khan, Ekansh Sharma, Sagar Dulhani, Kundan, Bharat, etc.

Santoshi Nagar flyover to start in one month

Finally, the motorists, who frequently use Ring Road No 1, will get respite from daily traffic snarls at Santoshi Nagar as the under-construction flyover will be ready in next thirsty days. The assurance was given by DS Vicon, the construction company hired by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to complete the fourlane project at Ring Road No 1, to the Congress which gheraoed the agency’s office on Friday for delay in project.

Later, the DCC president Inderchand Dhariwal informed that the construction agency also assured to repair the approach roads on either sides of the flyover during one month time.

Dhariwal indicated that the Congress would continue mounting pressure on the construction agency to complete the fourlane project as people living on either sides of Ring Road No 1 face more inconvenience due to poor road conditions and gridlocks.

The Congress leaders who accompanied Dhariwal to gherao DS Vicon’s office were – vice president Madan Lal Taleda, spokesperson Sheikh Shakeel, Jagdish Ahuja, Satnam Singh Panag, Samir Akhtar, Radheshyam Vibhar, Mamta Rai, Santosh Tiwari, Sumit Das, Devendra Yadav and others.

Cooperative Minister suspended Sisodia out of ill-will: Karma

Lashing out at Cooperative Minister Nankiram Kanwar for suspending his department’s deputy registrar SKS Sisodia, senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma on Friday said that the action was taken out of ill-will against the honest official. “Sisodia paid the price for showing courage to challenge land mafia active in Cooperative Department,” Karma said.

“Will the Chief Minister Raman Singh clarify his government’s intentions behind malicious action against the sincere officials? It seems the government’s policy is to protect corrupt officials and harass honest ones,” said Karma.

He informed that Sisodia became victim of Kanwar’s wrath because he took action against minister stalwart cooperative inspector who had become patron of the land mafia entered in cooperative housing committees.

“Now Sisodia episode will discourage sincere officials to take action against corrupt ones,” Karma said. Pointing towards a survey report conducted by India corruption Study according to which Chhattisgarh tops the list in bribery cases, Karma said, “Sisodia incident is an apparent indicator that the government has ulterior motives against the dedicated officials.”

He demanded from the government to reinstate Sisodia and stop protecting land mafia and corrupt officials in the system.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Cong unearths MNREGA scams in Rajnandgaon, Kawardha

The Congress has unearthed huge scams in MNREGA works which were carried out in Rajnandgaon and Kawardha districts. The chairman of Congress monitoring committee Arvind Netam on Thursday informed that a central inspection team too confirmed about prevalence of scams in MNREGA works in the two districts. The team acted on the directives of the then Union Rural Development Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who received complaint in this connection from former MP Devvrat Singh. The team toured Rajnandgaon and Kawardha from July 4-9, 2011 to pursue its task.

“On the basis of this team’s report, Secretary Union Rural Development Ministry BK Sinha on August 29, 2011 wrote a letter to the state Chief Secretary P Joy Oommen recommending disciplinary action against the guilty officials, but the state government is still slumbering,” said Netam while taking to the media persons at Congress Bhawan.

He feared that the government’s inaction can cost it dear as the Centre would not hesitate in stopping the fund flow to the two districts. “Corruption has infected MNREGA works in other districts too and soon the Congress will collect evidence from all such places by conducting intense tours,” said Netam.

He informed how irregularities in MNREGA works in Sarguja and Koria districts had decelerated development works in both the regions. “The government would have to open new jails before arresting large number of corrupts linked to MNREGA works,” he said.

The Centre’s letter to the state government says that according to norms gram panchayats are supposed to carry out MNREGA works worth fifty percent of the allocated fund but majority of the works were done by Water Resources, Forest and other government department and the expenditure exceeded over three quarters of the given amount.

Similarly, works were carried out in banned places listed under MNREGA, officials selected wrong spot for new pond where digging and then leveling works were done.

The team also found irregularities in labour payment. The working hours of the labourers were curtailed to three from seven. However, labour payment was shown for full working hours (seven hours).

Over 75% MNREGA scams in tribal areas: Patel

The PCC president Nandkumar Patel claimed that over 75 percent of the MNREGA scams of the state prevailed in the tribal regions. “The scams in Rajnandgaon and Kawardha are samples and we will soon expose the government in other districts too,” said Patel. “In October, the monitoring committee will tour Sarguja division. We will go to each and every development block to collect evidence regarding corruption in MNREGA works. Thereafter, we will tour Bastar division in November to repeat the same investigation procedures. If needed, we will tour Sarguja and Bastar again in December,” Patel said. On functioning of monitoring committee, he said fortnightly or monthly meeting would be organised to take stock of the Central works in the state.

Government’s inaction creates doubts: Nandkumar Patel

The PCC president Nandkumar Patel says that the government’s reluctance to lodge FIR against Essar creates doubts on its intentions. “The government should have filed case against Essar under Public Security Act, but no action has been taken by far,” Patel said.

“Not long ago, BALCO chimney incident took place in the state. The chairman of the Vedanta group, i.e. parent company of BALCO Anil Agrawal was held responsible for the accident. However, the government did not file a lawsuit against him. Now, the owners of Essar, Shashi and Ravi Ruia are responsible for the company’s naxal association, but strangely, the Chief Minister Raman Singh does not seem interested in taking up the matter to the court. Why government is generous towards law violators,” Patel asked.

He alleged that the government had instructed the police to stay away from Essar. “The instructions were given after a senior Essar official met the state government representative at Chhattisgarh Bhawan in New Delhi,” Patel said.

Arrest Ruias for their naxal links: Congress to govt

The Congress has demanded from the government to arrest Shashi and Ravi Ruia, the owners of Essar, the company which recently came into limelight for its non-industrial activities, i.e. alleged attempt to provide financial succor to the naxals. “Chief Minster Raman Singh always says that his government is committed to eradicate Maoism, but if he will spare Essar despite knowing about its naxal connections then he is simply doing injustice to the people of Chhattisgarh,” said senior Congress leader Arvind Netam while he was talking to the media at Congress Bhawan on Thursday.

“The cops did the brilliant job by trapping the Essar representatives while they tried to give Rs 15 lakh to the naxals. This is a rare feat because usually the dubious activities of the multinational companies (MNCs) never come to fore. The government, instead of appreciating its police personnel and taking prompt action against the Essar, has not even lodged formal FIR against the company. Why this favoritism to the company which is engaged in illegal and dangerous activities, the government should clarify,” said Netam.

He alleged that the CM was well conversant about Essar-naxal association but deliberately kept its eyes closed. “The government cannot curb naxals unless nailing their financers. But it has posed mysterious silence. It seems the state governments would not take any initiative on serious issues unless the judiciary intervenes,” Netam said.

He charged that the government had also violated Constitution while making way for rapid industrialisation. “The fifths schedule of the Constitution speaks volumes about land acquisition intricacies in scheduled areas. The government did not comprehend it and simply provided land to the industries including Essar. Even the pipeline laid by the Essar in the reserved forest areas is illegal,” he said.

Jogi demands liquor ban in state

Congress legislator Ajit Jogi on Thursday demanded from the government to ban liquor sale in the state. “The government is simply deceiving people by launching deaddiction campaigns. Its decision to close down 263 liquor shops is also a pretense. The liquor sale is on the rise in the state and the excise department is on verge of achieving its target in the midst of the financial year,” said Jogi. “The Congress and its frontal organisations have always expressed concern over increasing liquor consumption and had even launched deaddiction drives at frequent intervals, but every time the government had suppressed such movements,” he said.

Elected Cong reps being removed on false charges: Jogi