C’garh: Deo walks out of Assembly

In an unprecedented move, Chhattisgarh health minister T.S. Singh Deo on Tuesday walked out of the Assembly upset over a statement given in the house by his cabinet colleague Tamradhwaj Sahu regarding the July 24 attack on the convoy of a Congress MLA at Ambikapur in the state in which Deo’s name was dragged by the lawmaker earlier.

Deo declared in the house that he would not participate in the proceedings of the Assembly as long as the state government did not clear the air over the allegations leveled against him by the tribal MLA Brihaspati Singh that he was conspiring to eliminate him.

In a voice choked with emotion, Deo said, “Enough is enough. I am a human being. Everyone here knows me and about my character. Still, such kind of allegations were leveled against me. I deem it improper to be present in this August house until the government clears the air over the issue”.

The development has brought infighting in ruling Congress to the fore.

State home minister Sahu earlier made a statement about the Saturday’s incident in which some youths attacked a vehicle in the convoy of the MLA at Ambikapur following a road rage incident.

Sahu’s statement sparked uproar in the house with the Opposition members demanding to institute a probe by house committee into the MLA’s allegation that he faced threat to his life from Deo.

The Opposition members said they were not bothered about what happened at Ambikapur on the fateful day, as detailed by Sahu in the house.

Earlier on Sunday, the Brihaspati Singh created a ripple in the ruling Congress circle when he alleged that Deo was conspiring to eliminate him for making a statement earlier that Baghel would continue in the post of Chief Minister for another 25 years.