BJP suspects Jogi hand in MLA arrest

The BJP MLAs, who tabled a call attention motion in the Assembly today, demanded an inquiry by the House committee. However, when Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ravindra Chaubey rejected the demand and justified the arrest, the Opposition stormed into the Well of the House, raising anti-Jogi slogans and alleging the Chief Minister’s hand in the arrest, stalling the proceedings of the House.

BJP leader Brij Mohan Aggarwal, who led the party MLAs, alleged that the state government’s denial to order an independent probe itself showed that the cases had been framed. ‘‘No one is safe in Chhattisgarh if the Chief Minister is determined to deal with his enemies this way,’’ he said.

Responding to this, Dharamjit Singh of the Congress, who was in the Chair, announced suspension of 17 BJP MLAs for violating House norms. The BJP MLAs later marched to the Raj Bhawan to submit a memorandum to Governor Dinesh Nandan Sahay.