The last day of a session is always the most charged — and Chhattisgarh's Assembly is set for a fiery finish.

Today marks the final day of the Chhattisgarh Assembly Budget Session 2026 in Raipur. With the session drawing to a close, the opposition is gearing up for one last all-out attempt to put the ruling BJP government on the back foot across multiple fronts — from pension policy to urban transport to alleged irregularities in a major religious development project. Meanwhile, the government is laser-focused on pushing through three significant pieces of legislation before the gavel falls.

Opposition's Agenda — Questions the Government Must Answer

Leader of Opposition Charandas Mahant will open the attack during Question Hour, raising the issue of industries generating hazardous waste in the state — a matter with serious environmental and public health implications that has allegedly been inadequately addressed by the government.

MLA Punnulal Mohle will put the spotlight on the long-pending demand of government officers and employees seeking a switch from the New Pension Scheme (NPS) back to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) — a politically sensitive issue that has mobilised government employees across Chhattisgarh and the country. The government's response on this will be closely watched by lakhs of state employees.

MLA Harshita Swami Baghel will raise the matter of alleged irregularities in the construction of Shri Yantra Bhavan in Dongargarh under the central government's PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme — a project meant to develop one of Chhattisgarh's most prominent religious sites but now mired in questions of financial impropriety.

MLA Sunil Soni will draw Deputy Chief Minister Arun Saw's attention to the failure to launch city bus services on new routes in Raipur — a basic urban infrastructure demand that has left commuters in the state capital without adequate public transport.

MLA Ramkumar Toppo will raise the issue of maintenance of Karma Ethnic Resort in Mainpat — a tourism asset that has drawn criticism for alleged neglect.

71 Attention Motions — A Government Under Fire on All Sides

Beyond the formal question hour, a total of 71 attention motions have been submitted for today's session — an unusually high number that reflects the breadth of grievances opposition MLAs wish to place on record on the session's last day. Among these, MLA Tuleshwar Markam will seek to draw the minister's attention to alleged irregularities by excise officials in the Raipur division.

Three Major Bills the Government Wants Passed Today

While the opposition is on the offensive, the ruling government has a clear legislative agenda for the day — getting three important bills through the House.

The first is the Chhattisgarh Cess (Amendment) Bill 2026, to be introduced by Commerce and Tax Minister O.P. Chaudhary. This amendment is expected to revise the state's cess framework with implications for trade and taxation.

The second — and perhaps the most significant — is the Chhattisgarh (Prevention of Unfair Means in Public Recruitment and Professional Examinations) Bill 2026, to be moved by Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai himself. This anti-paper leak and anti-cheating legislation is widely seen as a direct response to the wave of recruitment exam scandals that have rocked the state in recent years. If passed, it will create a strict legal framework to deter malpractice in competitive examinations, a demand that has been long-voiced by students and aspirants across Chhattisgarh.

The third is the Chhattisgarh Employee Selection Board Bill 2026 — a structural reform aimed at streamlining and systematising the state's recruitment process through a revamped selection board framework.

Conversion Law Already Passed — A Session of Consequences

The Budget Session has already made national headlines for one landmark piece of legislation. The Chhattisgarh Freedom of Religion Bill 2026 was passed in the Assembly, making illegal religious conversion punishable by 7 to 10 years in prison and a minimum fine of Rs 5 lakh. Those who assist or facilitate illegal conversions will also face imprisonment. The law has been both praised by the ruling BJP and sharply criticised by opposition and civil society groups as constitutionally overreaching.

A Session That Will Be Remembered

Today's final day brings together everything that defines modern Indian state politics — a government trying to legislate at pace, an opposition trying to hold it accountable, and a long list of unresolved public grievances from pensions to potholes. Whether the three bills pass smoothly or face floor disruptions, and whether the government provides satisfactory answers on OPS, Dongargarh and city buses, will determine how this Budget Session is ultimately judged by the people of Chhattisgarh.

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.