Workers of the factions of the Chhattisgarh Congress led by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and state health minister T.S. Singh Deo are now fighting their battle on street and stage and their battle has turned from political to physical. Party Pawan Agarwal was assaulted by other leaders of the party for saying that CM Bhupesh Baghel should resign so that health minister TS Singh Deo can become the Chief Minister as per an alleged rotational formula.
A video of the clash has gone viral which happened at the district-level workers’ conference of the Congress held in Jashpur on Sunday. When former district president Pawan Agarwal was speaking, all of sudden some people approached him to push him from the podium and stopped him from speaking. This led to a huge commotion as a large number of people climbed onto the stage to stop the assault. The fighting took place in front of the party’s state in-charge Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka who was present on the stage.
#WATCH | Chhattisgarh: Local Congress leaders & workers enter into a brawl at party workers conference in Jashpur after party’s ex-dist pres Pawan Agarwal was pushed away from podium & stopped from speaking. He had started speaking on Min TS Singh Deo when the incident took place pic.twitter.com/7joKTUlYgE
— ANI (@ANI) October 24, 2021
Pawan Agarwal’s speech was interrupted by party workers when he started saying that state health minister TS Singh Deo waited for two and half years to become Chief Minister, and now Bhupesh Baghel must vacate the post for him. Immediately after he said this, district president of Congress Minority Cell Iftikhar Hasan jumped on stage, snatched the mike from him and pushed him away. With this, a large number of workers jumped on the stage and joined the brawl.
Pawan Agarwal alleged that supporters of the party’s Kunkuri MLA had attacked him. Later he told media that TS Singh Deo and CM Bhupesh Baghel worked together to bring the Congress back to power in the state, and now Baghel should vacate his seat for Deo.
Hours after the brawl, members of Agrawal Mahasabha burnt an effigy of Iftikhar Hasan and demanded action against him.
Like every other state where it is in power, the Congress party is facing a crisis in Chhattisgarh also where T.S. Singh Deo has pressed for a change of leadership. Bhupesh Baghel was appointed chief minister in December 2018 on a rotation formula. There was an understanding that after serving as chief minister for two and half years he will leave the post for T.S. Singh Deo. This rotation formula was neither accepted nor clearly denied by the central leadership. Now T.S. Singh Deo and his supporters are reminding Rahul Gandhi about that rotational formula as time for the change of CM has already passed.
