BJP members marched towards the Vidhan Sabha, and police escorted them away.
On Wednesday evening, a group of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists led by senior leaders marched to the Vidhan Sabha to perform a Gherao (encircle) in protest of the bad execution of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) scheme to give housing to the underprivileged.
Hours before the protest march, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel talked with the media, asking the BJP to clarify its position on the economic survey he launched without the decennial census this year.
“The BJP has been left with no concerns, so they spread confusion,” Baghel remarked. We are doing an economic survey. The BJP should state unequivocally whether it supports the survey or not. Shall we conduct a survey for the Awas (PMAY), toilets, and gas cylinders?” Baghel has proposed an economic and social study in Chhattisgarh in order to give people the benefits of government initiatives.”
On Tuesday, the BJP organised a protest gathering to encircle the legislature on Wednesday to protest the poor implementation of PMAY. The police said section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code for action against unlawful assembly was in effect within a two-kilometer radius of the Legislative Assembly while the session was in session.
The police barred the roads 500 metres ahead of Vidhan Sabha and erected another metal-sheet blockade a kilometre ahead of the assembly.
Almost 200 officers and officials from the Chhattisgarh police and the Chhattisgarh armed force were on duty. The police used drones to monitor the crowd.
The police attempted to stop a march of over 100 BJP workers led by former minister Brijmohan Agrawal and MLA Saurabh Singh towards the Vidhan Sabha. To disperse the gathering, police used tear gas, water cannons, and a moderate lathi charge. Then, the police decided to soften their stance towards the protestors, urging them to protest peacefully and refrain from breaking the metal sheets.
The BJP workers, on the other hand, dismantled the metal sheets. Several BJP workers made it to the second barricade before being halted. Protesters were loaded into buses and driven away from the scene. Police later arrested approximately 100 people.
