Chhattisgarh Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Rajwade has denied allegations that her personal assistant assaulted a toll plaza employee after a boom barrier fell on her convoy vehicle at Lahpatra toll plaza in Surguja district. Rajwade said the person involved was the vehicle driver and not her PA, Om Prakash Rajwade.

The incident took place late on September 2 on National Highway 130, when Rajwade's convoy was travelling from Bilaspur towards Ambikapur. A video of the altercation, reportedly recorded by CCTV cameras at the toll plaza, subsequently surfaced on social media and triggered controversy. 

Minister Says She Was Inside the Vehicle

Rajwade said she was resting inside her vehicle after a day of government programmes when the incident occurred and did not know about the altercation at the toll plaza at the time.

According to her, she learnt about the incident the following day through social media and other sources. She expressed regret over the alleged mistreatment of the toll employee and said that any technical or human error resulting in the barrier coming down could have been accidental, but misbehaviour with an employee was unacceptable. 

Rajwade Rejects Allegation Against PA

The minister specifically rejected the allegation involving her PA, saying Om Prakash Rajwade did not assault or misbehave with the toll worker.

She said the person seen in the video was the driver of the vehicle and that she had issued him a strong warning over his conduct. Rajwade also said she would meet the affected employee and enquire about his well-being.

The clarification comes after initial reports identified the person involved as the minister's PA. Some reports continued to describe the alleged assailant as a member of the minister's staff, while the minister has disputed that identification. 

What Happened at Lahpatra Toll Plaza?

According to reports, Rajwade's convoy reached the Lahpatra toll plaza at around 12:30 am on September 3. The convoy consisted of two vehicles. The first vehicle crossed the toll barrier, after which the boom came down as the second vehicle, a Fortuner carrying the minister, approached.

The barrier reportedly came into contact with the minister's vehicle, causing damage. A dispute followed at the toll plaza, during which a toll employee identified as Mahendra Rajwade was allegedly assaulted. 

The exact circumstances that led to the boom coming down have also been described differently in reports. One account attributed it to the automatic system operating after the first vehicle crossed, while other reports said the second vehicle was moving through the barrier when it descended. The precise sequence remains subject to verification. 

Toll Worker Approaches Police

Following the incident, Mahendra Rajwade approached Lakhanpur police along with other toll employees and local residents and submitted a complaint seeking action.

Reports said the employee underwent a medical examination. Local residents had also warned of a protest if action was not taken on the complaint. Later reports indicated that both sides approached the Lakhanpur police station and that police began examining the matter. 

CCTV Footage Fuels Controversy

The CCTV footage has become central to the controversy. Reports said it shows a man confronting the toll employee after the barrier incident, with the employee appearing to plead with those around him.

However, the footage alone does not establish the identity of every person involved or settle the competing claims about whether the individual was the minister's driver, PA or another member of the convoy. Police action and any further investigation will determine the facts of the case.

Minister Promises to Meet Employee

Rajwade has sought to distance herself and her PA from the alleged assault while condemning the conduct captured in the video. She said the driver had been warned and that she would personally meet the toll worker to enquire about his condition.

The controversy has meanwhile put renewed focus on the conduct of officials and members of their convoys at public facilities. The toll barrier incident and the subsequent alleged assault are separate issues, and responsibility for the damage to the vehicle as well as the alleged assault will have to be established independently.

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.