The twelfth day of Chhattisgarh's budget session on Monday turned into one of its most turbulent yet, with the Opposition walking out of the House not once but twice — first over the government's evasive answers on illegal land plotting in Dhamtari and Kanker, and then in protest after their adjournment motion against the renaming of MGNREGA was rejected. Uproar, sloganeering, and a five-minute suspension of proceedings marked a day that laid bare the deepening hostility between the ruling BJP and the Congress benches.

Illegal Plotting: Vague Answers, Furious Opposition

The session opened with Congress MLA Ambika Markam directing pointed questions at Revenue Minister Tankram Verma about illegal land plotting in Dhamtari and Kanker districts. She asked how many complaints had been received between 2024 and January 31, 2026, how many survey numbers had been investigated, and what concrete action had been taken against the guilty.

Verma's response was thin. He told the House that three complaints had been received in Dhamtari and five in Kanker, that eight out of a total 175 survey numbers had been investigated, and that action was still in process. Three patwaris had had their salary increments stopped, and 67 individuals had been served notices.

Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was quick to expose the hollowness of these answers. He pointed out that this very question comes up every session, yet the government has never been able to clearly say how many illegal colonies have been built across the state, how many people have actually been prosecuted, or when the patwari action was taken. For twenty-five minutes, he noted, the minister had been unable to give a direct reply — answering questions about Dhamtari with Kanker's data and vice versa.

Even BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar pressed the minister, asking him to specify exactly when these colonies were built and when action would follow. Verma's response — that a timeline could not be given and that the revenue department itself was capable of investigating — only added to the frustration. Baghel accused the minister's own department of actively patronising illegal colonies rather than acting against them. The Opposition demanded an EOW investigation and, when that was rejected, walked out of the House in protest.

Nursery and Plantation Row: Question Itself Disputed

The session then moved to a question raised by Congress MLA Chaturi Nand about nursery and plantation work in the Jangalbeda village of Saraipali forest range in Mahasamund. Nand alleged that the original question put to the government had been altered before being taken up in the House — a serious procedural charge.

Baghel backed him up, calling it a grave matter and demanding action against the departmental officials responsible for the change. Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap responded that the question before him related to 2025, and he had answered accordingly. Nand flatly said his original question had nothing to do with 2025. The Speaker intervened to explain that because no specific time period had been mentioned in the original question, a period was fixed to make it answerable — without which the question could not have been admitted at all. The clarification did not fully satisfy the Opposition, but the matter was moved past.

'Ji Ram Ji' Row: Congress Brings Adjournment Motion, House Erupts

The most dramatic moments of the day came during Zero Hour, when Congress brought an adjournment motion opposing the central government's decision to rename MGNREGA — referred to in political shorthand as the 'Ji Ram Ji' controversy, in reference to the new name being proposed. Baghel moved the motion, called the original MGNREGA a far superior scheme in its original form, and demanded that the House admit the motion and hold a full discussion on the issue.

BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar hit back hard, declaring that the Assembly is not a platform for Opposition politics and not a stage for Congress to run its campaigns. He said the House belongs to the people and its time is too precious to be spent on political theatre. The exchange between both sides quickly escalated — sharp arguments turned to sloganeering, the noise level in the chamber rose sharply, and the Speaker was forced to suspend proceedings for five minutes to restore order.

When the adjournment motion was formally rejected, the Opposition refused to return. Leader of Opposition Dr Charandas Mahant declared that if the people's issues were being raised, then politics would be done — and the Congress benches walked out of the House for the second time in a single day, boycotting the remainder of the session's proceedings.

What It Signals

With just three sitting days remaining before the budget session concludes on March 20, the government faces the task of passing the Appropriation Bill and other pending legislation through a House where the Opposition has now made clear it will disrupt, walk out, and refuse to cooperate at every opportunity. The back-to-back walkouts on Day 12 are not just procedural protests — they are a signal that the Congress intends to carry the energy from the street protests of the morning's assembly gherao straight into the legislative chamber, keeping maximum pressure on the Vishnu Deo Sai government through every available platform until the session's final gavel.

The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly's Budget Session entered its 11th day on Monday with a packed and politically charged agenda — headlined by the tabling and debate of a bill previously returned by Governor Ramen Deka, discussion on Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai's departmental grant demands, and continuing turbulence from the opposition over the LPG crisis, rotting paddy stocks, and the explosive Pota Cabin pregnancy scandal. With the session scheduled to conclude on March 20 and the Appropriation Bill due for passage by March 18, the House is running out of time — and patience on both sides of the aisle.

The Governor's Returned Bill: What It Is and Why It Matters

The central legislative development of Day 11 is the debate on a bill that Governor Ramen Deka had earlier returned to the state government for reconsideration. Three important bills — including the Chhattisgarh Dharma Swatantraya Vidheyak (Religious Freedom Bill) 2026 and the Chhattisgarh Lok Suraksha (Upay) Pravartan Vidheyak (Public Safety Enforcement Bill) 2026 — were slated to be tabled during the budget session. TV9 Bharatvarsh The Governor's decision to return one or more of these contentious pieces of legislation has added a constitutional dimension to what was already a politically charged session.

Under Article 200 of the Constitution, the Governor may assent to a bill, withhold assent, return it for reconsideration — except in the case of money bills — or reserve it for the President's consideration, particularly if it endangers high court powers or contradicts central laws. Withheld assent can prevent a bill from becoming law, though recent Supreme Court rulings emphasise that timely action is required to avoid indefinite delays. Punch

The Dharma Swatantraya Vidheyak — a religious conversion regulation bill — is among the most politically sensitive pieces of legislation in the BJP's Chhattisgarh agenda, dealing with restrictions on conversions and requirements for prior government permission before changing one's religion. The opposition Congress has consistently challenged such bills as constitutionally questionable. The floor debate on Day 11 is therefore not just procedural: it is a direct test of the BJP government's legislative confidence and the constitutional limits of gubernatorial authority.

CM Sai's Grant Demands in Focus

Day 11 also sees discussion on Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai's departmental grant demands — a routine but politically significant exercise through which the opposition uses budgetary scrutiny to attack the government's performance record.

The ongoing budget session has already seen the Chhattisgarh Assembly approve demands for grants totalling more than ₹14,655.74 crore for 2026-27, covering key allocations for Public Health Engineering, Urban Administration, Public Works, and Sports and Youth Welfare. Lawfirm4immigrants These approvals, framed under the government's ambitious ₹1.72 lakh crore SANKALP Budget, form the backdrop against which the CM's own departmental performance will now be scrutinised.

The Food and Women & Child Development Ministers are also scheduled to answer questions during Day 11's Question Hour — a session likely to be dominated by the twin crises of LPG shortages and the Pota Cabin scandal.

LPG Row: Congress Pushes Back Despite Suspension

The LPG cylinder shortage has remained the dominant disruptive force in the current session. The Assembly witnessed a dramatic confrontation when opposition leader Charndas Mahant raised the LPG issue directly, stating that people and hotel operators across Chhattisgarh are struggling due to non-availability of cylinders. BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar countered that the matter falls outside the House's jurisdiction, triggering fierce sloganeering from both sides — with the uproar escalating to the point where one Congress MLA was suspended from the session. TV9 Bharatvarsh

Congress MLAs who marched into the Well of the House over the domestic gas shortage were collectively suspended from proceedings Devdiscourse — a dramatic escalation that has become a recurring feature of this session. Despite the suspension, the Congress has vowed to continue raising the LPG issue on the floor and in the media, framing it as a governance failure that goes beyond geopolitical factors.

Paddy Spoilage Row: ₹30 Crore Loss Alleged

A separate agricultural crisis has also erupted inside the House. On Day 11, the issue of paddy not being lifted from procurement centres resonated in the House, with a Congress MLA alleging that paddy worth ₹30 crore had spoiled due to non-collection. Devdiscourse Chhattisgarh is one of India's largest paddy-producing states, and lapses in procurement logistics hit the farming community — the BJP's core rural vote bank — with particular force. The government has not yet responded officially to the ₹30 crore spoilage allegation, and the issue is expected to be pressed hard during Question Hour.

Pota Cabin Scandal: Zero Hour Erupts

One of the most socially explosive issues of the current session resurfaced during Zero Hour on Day 11. The matter of girls from Pota Cabin residential schools becoming pregnant echoed loudly during Zero Hour, with the opposition filing an adjournment motion and demanding discussion on the issue. Devdiscourse Pota Cabins are government-run residential facilities for tribal and underprivileged students — and reports of multiple minor girls from such facilities becoming pregnant have caused outrage across Chhattisgarh, raising questions about institutional accountability, staff oversight, and the safety of vulnerable children in state care.

The opposition's adjournment motion signals intent to force a full House debate on the matter, something the government has resisted, preferring to address it administratively rather than through a political floor fight.

The Bigger Picture: Four Days Left, Three Bills to Pass

The Chhattisgarh Appropriation Bill 2026 is scheduled to be tabled on March 17 and passed on March 18, with the entire Budget Session running until March 20. TV9 Bharatvarsh In the four remaining sitting days, the government must navigate the passage of the Appropriation Bill, the contentious Dharma Swatantraya and Lok Suraksha Bills, and the ongoing heat from the opposition on LPG, paddy, and Pota Cabin — all while managing a fractious House where suspensions and walkouts have become almost daily.

For Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, the final stretch of the Budget Session is as much a test of floor management as it is of governance. The SANKALP Budget's ambitious ₹1.72 lakh crore vision means little if the government cannot hold the House together long enough to pass its own bills.