Tadmetla arson affects Assembly proceedings

     Raipur, March 28, 2011: The alleged arson and violence in Tadmetla, Timmapuram and Morepalli by police forces in Dantewada district on March 13, last had its effect on Chhattisgarh Assembly today and the opposition Congress initially pressed for accepting their adjournment motion and then boycotted the house proceeding for the day.

     Immediately after the question hour, former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi raised the issue of Tadmetla and said his Congress party had given an adjournment motion on the issue and urged the Speaker to accept that.

     However, Speaker Dharam Lal Kaushik said the Adjournment motion was received at about 10.00 AM, when rule says it had to be given two hours before to the Secretary, Chair and the Minister.

     The Speaker, however, said the issue had been included in today’s schedule as a call attention motion and urged the members to participate in that.

     However, Congress members pressed for admitting their adjournment motion and raised slogans, because of which the house was adjourned at 12.29 PM till 1.04 PM.    

     When the house reassembled Home Minister Nanki Ram Kanwar read a statement on the issue and dismissed several allegations of the opposition.

     But the Congress members continued with their demands and finally Leader of Opposition Ravindra Choubey said the statement of the Home Minister was not fully backed by truth and incomplete also and said they are boycotting the house proceeding for the day and they went out of the house.

     Since the House was to take up the discussion on the Departments of Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, it was completed amid empty bench of the main opposition.

        Reports in national media had said a joint police party of CRPF and Koya Commandos had gone on a three day operation of Chintalnar area on March 13, last and during that period they had killed one innocent person, sexually abused some women and burnt about 300 houses for no reasons.

     The District Collector has constituted an Inquiry committee headed by Sub Divisional Magistrate Sukma Surendra Vaidya to probe the incident.

     Meanwhile, a mob, in the presence of a huge police force, attacked and assaulted Swami Agnivesh twice and the vehicles carrying him and many journalists were damaged near Dornapal, when they were proceeding towards Tadmetla area on March 26 with relief materials.

     After all these incidents the state government transferred the District Collector Dantewada R Prasanna as the Municipal Commissioner of Raipur and in his place Om Prakash Choudhary is made the new Collector and DIG cum SSP S R P Kalluri is shifted to Sarguja as DIG and in his place Ankit Garg is made new SP Dantewada. AIG in Police Headquarters Dhruv Gupta is shifted to Mahasamund.