Raman Singh to start Suraj Abhiyan today

WITH AN eye on the 2018 Assembly polls, Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh is set to launch the annualloksurajabhiyanonapril 3. The Abhiyan will continue till May 20. Under the Abhiyan, Singh, now in his third term as CM, travels to blocks across the state with officials to identify problemsandlistentogrievances.

In a first this year, the state government invited petitions from people, starting late February. The next phase, when Singh visits the villages, has been named “samadhan shivir”. Officials said 28 lakh petitions had come in from across the state so far.

Speaking to reporters before he set out for Bastar for the Abhiyan, Singh said, “This time the idea is to meet as many people as possible, and largely spend the night in the districts, to take stock of the situation. This will help me find what is missing in the government’s policies, what the people want in the rest of the term.”

Talking about anti-incumbency, Singh said that at the root of it was non-delivery on expectations at a local level. “If you finish the anger, there will be no anti-incumbency. People are normally angry about a pump not being put in place, or a tank that isn’t working. For instance, in Bastar there is lots of talk about phone towers. We have said the work will be completed in 11 months,” Singh said.

Asked about his comment on Saturday where he told mediapersons in Jagdalpur that the government would “hang people (latka denge) if they killed cows, Singh said, “There is a complete ban on cow slaughter in the state. I said that there would be strictest action taken as per law.”

Raman Singh