Noisy scenes in Chhattisgarh assembly as Congress questions government over Naxal encounter

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh legislative assembly on Wednesday witnessed stormy scenes after Congress MLAs raised questions over an encounter in Bijapur district of the state in May this year, and claimed that most of the persons killed in the incident were innocent villagers and not Naxalites.

Countering their charges, state Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said the Congress should stop supporting Naxalites.

In the Question Hour, Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant asked about the statistics of Naxalite-related incidents in the state between December last year and June this year.

In his reply, Deputy CM Sharma, who also holds the home portfolio, said 273 Naxalite-related incidents, including 92 encounters between security forces and Naxalites, took place during this period.

Nineteen security personnel lost their lives and 88 sustained injuries in Naxalite incidents and encounters, while 34 civilians were killed by Maoists between December last year and June this year, he said.

Similarly, 137 Naxalites were gunned down and 171 arrested in the state during this period, Sharma said.

As on June 30 this year, 790 Naxalites are in jail, of whom, 765 are under trial and 25 are convicted, he added.

Later, Congress MLAs, including former minister Kawasi Lakhma and Vikram Mandavi, raised questions over the authenticity of the encounter near Pidia village in Bijapur district and alleged that innocent villagers engaged in tendu leaf collection were killed by the police.

Refuting their charges, the deputy CM raised an objection and asked them to desist from making such "unacceptable" statements.

The Congress should stop supporting Naxalites, he said.

Subsequently, the Congress members started sloganeering, saying the state government should stop targeting innocent tribals in the name of Naxalites.

After the question hour ended, Speaker Raman Singh proceeded with further list business of the day.