Twenty-nine Congress MLAs were suspended on Monday by the Speaker of Chhattisgarh’s Legislative Assembly because they protested in the Well of the House after their demand for a discussion on the issue of a BJP leader arrested for allegedly cultivating opium was rejected. Their suspension was later revoked.
A 58-year-old BJP leader, who allegedly illegally planted opium in over 5 acres of a farm in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district, was arrested on Saturday along with his two aides. He was identified as Vinayak Tamrakar, the state coordinator for rice mill processing work in the Farmers’ wing of the BJP. He was suspended on the day of his arrest.
The matter came to light after former Chhattisgarh chief minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel reached the farm on Saturday and posted photos and videos of the opium plantation on social media.
In the Assembly, Congress members demanded a discussion by moving an Adjournment Motion notice. The Congress claimed that opium was allegedly cultivated on about 10 acres inside a 110-acre fenced farmhouse located near the Shivnath river at Samoda village under Pulgaon police station limits in Durg district. The party alleged that maize and wheat crops had been planted around the opium fields to conceal the illegal activity.
This issue was raised in the Assembly by the Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant, who said the farm was just about 50 km from the state capital, Raipur, and asked how the patwari (revenue official), tehsildar and district collector were not aware of it. Mahant alleged that there appeared to be administrative collusion in the case.
He said, “Police took time to arrest him (Vinayak Tamrakar) and are now trying to save him. Drugs are destroying Chhattisgarh, farmers are being betrayed and harassed, and their paddy is not being bought. But you want to do opium farming in Chhattisgarh? How come the patwari, tehsildar and collector were not aware of it?”
Baghel echoed Mahant’s concerns, saying, “The reason why Mahant ji is saying that police are trying to save the accused is because, in the FIR, the servant working for Tamrakar is made accused number 1 while Tamrakar is accused number 3. So, if the servant changes his statement in the future, Tamrakar can go scot-free. Days before Holi, a few villagers had gone to pick wood when they spotted the farm. A complaint was given by the sarpanch to police.”
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Baghel also claimed that the FIR lacked key details such as the exact landholding and ownership of the property.
Another Congress MLA, Sangeeta Sinha, said, “There are many such opium plantations across the state, and there must be an investigation into it.” Umesh Patel, also a legislator, said, “The BJP leader had made a fence around the farm, kept bouncers who beat up villagers and also kept CCTV to make sure no one comes to the area. The ruling party’s people used to go there. This is a serious issue.”
In his response, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who is also the Home Minister, said, “The Durg police received a tip-off on March 6 about illegal opium cultivation at a farmhouse. Acting on the information, a joint team comprising police, officials from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Excise and Revenue departments conducted a raid at the site. Due to darkness, the site was secured on the first day, and the seizure operation resumed on March 7 in the presence of a chief judicial magistrate.”
Following Sharma’s reply, the Speaker’s chair disallowed the Adjournment Motion. In response, Congress members began sloganeering and entered the Well of the House, leading to their automatic suspension.
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The chair announced the suspension of 29 Congress members, following which they sat on the floor of the House and continued shouting slogans against the government.
Amid the noisy scenes, the House was briefly adjourned. After the proceedings resumed, the chair revoked the suspension of the Congress MLAs.