Posters, slogans and repeated adjournments during question hour in Chhattisgarh Assembly, speaker slams opposition conduct

RAIPUR: The last day of Chhattisgarh’s winter session opened in chaos on Wednesday, with Congress MLAs entering the House wearing “Satyamev Jayate” posters and launching into slogans over alleged misuse of central and state probe agencies, during the Question Hour — "Assembly’s most crucial segment" — collapsed entirely after three adjournments.

As the House assembled, BJP MLAs objected to Congress members wearing posters inside the chamber. The Speaker ruled that posters, placards and banners were against Assembly rules and asked the Opposition to remove them. Congress members refused, prompting the first adjournment of five minutes.When the House reconvened, Congress MLAs continued slogan-shouting. A second adjournment of ten minutes followed, and protests still ongoing, the Speaker adjourned proceedings again till noon.

No questions could be taken up on the last day of the session.Congress members later sought a discussion on the alleged political misuse of agencies such as ED, CBI and state's EOW/ACB, moving an adjournment motion but the speaker rejected the demand. Congress legislators trooped into the well of the House, leading to their suspension under Assembly rules. Thirty-four Congress MLAs, including leader of opposition Charan Das Mahant and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, walked out before their suspension was later revoked. Baghel alleged that investigative agencies were being used to “strangulate the opposition” and intimidate public representatives.

He also claimed that witness statements were being pre-written by the state EOW and passed off as genuine court documents.Referring to the arrest of his son Chaitanya by the ED, Baghel said, “We are not scared. But democracy is in danger when agencies are weaponised.” He cited action against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case as an example of “political vendetta”.BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar argued that actions of central agencies cannot be discussed in a state Assembly.

He accused the previous Congress govt of establishing “a pattern” of political misuse of institutions.The Speaker Raman Singh informed the House that he had already rejected the adjournment motion in his chamber and that Question Hour could not be disrupted for protests.As Congress members raised slogans of “Satyamev Jayate” and “Investigative agencies ka durupyog band karo”, the and BJP MLAs responded with “Vande Mataram”. With most of the morning lost to protests, slogans and adjournments, the final sitting of the winter session ended without the Question Hour or substantive discussion — overshadowed instead by a political confrontation over investigative agencies.