Jogi misuses govt funds: BJP

The Chhattisgarh BJP today moved an adjournment motion in the Assembly, accusing the ruling Congress of spending money from the state excheq...

The Chhattisgarh BJP today moved an adjournment motion in the Assembly, accusing the ruling Congress of spending money from the state exchequer for party publicity.

It charged the Ajit Jogi government with wasting crores of rupees and subjecting official machinery to blatant misuse during Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s visit early this month. Sonia had laid the foundation stone for the new capital, addressed a women’s rally and inaugurated the state’s first cooperative sugar mill.

Jogi stayed away from the House and left it to his ministers to defend the government on the issue. ‘‘Sonia’s visit was a major success. It pressed panic buttons in the Opposition camp. So they (BJP) brought the adjournment motion now,’’ Jogi said later.

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The Opposition also alleged that Jogi concealed facts on the new capital project and misled Sonia to lay the foundation stone even before getting it cleared by the Centre, especially from the Ministry of Forests and Environment.

The BJP MLAs also offered details as to how senior ministers got private transporters’ vehicles for taking Congress workers to Sonia’s public meetings.

The district collectors, SPs, regional transport officers, sub-divisional magistrates and tehsildars were given targets to bring people to the meetings, they alleged.

The government machinery was misused to prepare Congress posters, pamphlets and banners at official cost. The administrative functioning remained suspended for two days in view of the meetings, they alleged. ‘‘This is highly objectionable and the public feels cheated,’’ BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar said.

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In its defence, the state government claimed it had not committed any impropriety as Sonia’s visit was an official function.

‘‘All norms and rules were observed and all charges of violation are concocted and politically motivated. Several lakhs of people attended the public meetings and they made their own arrangements for transport. The government did not organise or spend money on their transport,’’ Minister for General Administration K.K. Gupta said. He also rejected the demand for an inquiry into the charges.

Interestingly, official sources admitted that the visit cost over Rs 2 crore including arrangements for transporting people to three different public meetings — Paota, Dongargaon and Kawardha.