A group of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers led by its leaders marched towards the Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday evening to do a Gherao(encircle) as a mark of protest for poor implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) scheme to provide housing facility to the poor people. Hours before the protest rally, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel spoke with the media where he asked BJP to make their stand clear on the economic survey announced by him in absence of the decennial census this year. Baghel said, "The BJP has been left with no issues so they spread confusion. We are doing the economic survery. The BJP should make it clear whether they support the survey or not. Should we do a survey or not for the Awas (PMAY), for toilets and gas cylinders." Baghel recently announced an economic and social survey in Chhattisgarh to provide benefits of government schemes to people." The BJP had announced a protest rally on Tuesday to encircle the assembly on Wednesday to protest against poor implementation of PMAY. The police said section 144 of CrPC for action against unlawful assembly was in place in a two kilometer radius of the Legislative Assembly as the session was underway. The police barricaded the roads around 500 meters ahead of Vidhan Sabha and put up another barricade with metal sheets a kilometer ahead of the assembly. Heavy police bandobast was in place with over 200 policemen and officials from Chhattisgarh police and Chhattisgarh armed force. The police made use of drones to monitor the crowd. As a group of over 100 BJP workers led by former minister Brijmohan Agrawal and MLA Saurabh Singh marched towards the Vidhan Sabha the police tried to stop them. The police made use of tear gas, water cannon and mild lathi charge to stop the crowd. The police later decided to go soft on the protestors and appealed to them to protest peacefully and not to break the metal sheets. The BJP workers however broke down the metal sheets. Some BJP workers managed to reach the second barricade where they were stopped. The protestors were put in several bus and taken away from the spot. Around 100 people were arrested by the police later.
