The power tussle between Minister T.S. Singh Deo and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel intensified on July 18. While a large number of MLAs reportedly asked the State leadership to take disciplinary action against Mr. Deo, the disgruntled Minister himself headed to Delhi to hold a "conversation with the Congress high command about the current events".
Sources said that at a meeting of party legislators on Sunday, a large number of MLAs accused Mr. Deo of giving the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) an issue it could exploit in the coming days and demanded strong action against him. Mr. Deo did not attend this meeting as he had pre-scheduled social events in his home district of Ambikapur.
Take same flight
The party's State in-charge P.L. Punia, who left for Delhi on Monday, too, told journalists that Mr. Deo should have raised the matter on the party’s forum, instead of going public with his resignation letter. It is learnt that both Mr. Punia and Mr. Deo took the same flight to the national capital where the latter has sought time from senior leaders.
In his resignation letter to Mr. Baghel, Mr. Deo had stated that he was stepping down as the Panchayati Raj Minister. He had highlighted the State government’s failure to construct houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) as the reason for his resignation. For now, Mr. Deo keeps his other four portfolios.
On his party colleagues demanding action against him, Mr. Deo said his raising the issues mentioned in the letter did not amount to indiscipline.
“If the MLAs think it is indiscipline, they have the freedom to express their views. A Union Minister [Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Giriraj Singh who was in Chhattisgarh last week] commented on the MGNREGA [rural jobs scheme] as well as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. I took the responsibility for it and resigned from the department. Maybe someone else can take the responsibility and do a better job,” said Mr. Deo.
