Jogi’s bagful of woes brims over with seizure in Bastar

As many as 25 lakh school bags were to be distributed as part of a scheme which was started two months before the announcement of polls.

Last night, as news came pouring in that a truck had overturned at Abhanpur, the BJP sent its team to the spot and seized the bags. Leader of the Opposition Nand Kumar Sai led a party delegation to State Chief Electoral Officer K.K. Chakravarti today, demanding stern action against the Jogi government for violating the code of conduct. ‘‘This shows how Jogi is flouting EC orders and is still going on with the distribution of bags,’’ Sai told Chakravarti.

Chakravarti said: ‘‘I have written to Chief Secretary S.K. Mishra and the Tribal Welfare Department for a report. If the complaint is found true, we will take appropriate action.’’

But Mishra maintained that ‘‘we have not distributed any school bags. The supplier loaded the truck in Delhi a few days ago to be delivered at Jagdalpur and were in transit. Just because they were being transported doesn’t mean that they were being distributed too.’’

However, according to information from Bastar and Rajnandgaon districts, school bags were still being distributed even after EC orders. In Bastar, the District Collector said that since the EC’s orders came a day later, bags were distributed in some schools.