The simmering power tussle between Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and senior minister T S Singh Deo came to a head Saturday with the latter relinquishing the charge of the crucial Panchayat and Rural Development portfolios - a move set to push the state unit of the Congress into further turmoil. Worsening matters for the Congress, Singh Deo, who continues to hold four other ministries, spelt out his reasons for relinquishing the Panchayat and Rural Development departments in a public, four-page letter to Baghel. Singh Deo and Baghel have been in a tug of war since the Congress trounced the BJP to form the government in Chhattisgarh in 2018. A CM contender, Singh Deo had been overlooked, and later saw himself as pushed to the sidelines by Baghel, even as a so-called rotational chief ministership formula never materialised. Among the reasons cited by Singh Deo in his letter were non-sanction of funds under the PM Awas Yojana, as a result of which, the minister said, houses could not be constructed for eight lakh people in the state. Singh Deo wrote that he had discussed the issue with Baghel several times, “but funds were not made available” and, as a result, “not even a single house could be constructed for the homeless”. He also underlined that houses for rural families was one of the high points of the Congress manifesto. Singh Deo pointed out that it was the right of the minister concerned to allocate funds under discretionary schemes in his department, but that, contrary to the rules of business, a committee of secretaries headed by the Chief Secretary was constituted to take final decisions even after the recommendation of a minister. He said his repeated objections were overlooked, the system was not changed and Rs 500 crores of funds could not be used for works as recommended by ministers, MLAs and other people’s representatives. The letter also confirmed raging speculations about differences between Singh Deo and the CM over implementation of the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) rules. Singh Deo said his department had drawn up draft rules after extensive consultations held over two years with people in tribal blocks, but once sent to the cabinet committee, these were changed. “The in-charge minister was not taken into confidence and this will establish an unhealthy precedent,” Singh Deo said, adding that he had written to Baghel about the matter personally. He also expressed resentment over the decision to reinstate assistant programme officers (APOs) of the Panchayat Department following a strike by the employment assistants three months ago. He said the strike had impacted payment of Rs 1,250 crore under the MNREGS work, and their reinstatement was inappropriate. Singh Deo retains the portfolios of Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education, Twenty Point Implementation and Commercial Tax (GST) departments. The AICC in-charge of the state, P L Punia, did not respond to repeated attempts to reach him over the latest developments in the state. The blow-up comes too close to the 2023 Assembly polls for comfort for the Congress, especially with the BJP already in election mode. The last point of conflict between Singh Deo and Baghel was over a mining project in Hasdeo Aranya. Deo visited the forests and declared that, left to him, not a single tree would be cut for the project. With Rahul Gandhi seen as backing Deo on the issue, Baghel eventually put the project on hold. “If T S Singh Deo doesn’t want trees to be cut, not even a branch would be harmed,” the CM said. The tussle has affected several other state government programmes as well - from the implementation of PESA rules to projects such as the Urban Development Department’s Dhanwantari slum hospitals. It has sometimes taken an ugly turn too. Last year, Congress MLA from Ramanujganj Brihaspati Singh accused Singh Deo of orchestrating an attack on him for giving statements in favour of Baghel. Singh Deo staged a walkout from the Assembly in anger, returning only when his demand that the charge be officially denied by the government was conceded. In June, after Baghel unveiled a plan to “seek cooperation of the private sector for further strengthening health facilities” in rural areas, directing the Industries Department to prepare an action plan for grant / subsidy, Singh Deo told the media that no discussion on it had been held in the Cabinet. Singh Deo and Baghel also clashed over the proposed Lemru Elephant Reserve.
