Raipur: Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday held a press conference in Raipur and levelled a series of charges against the BJP-led state government, the Centre and the Election Commission. He questioned preparations for paddy procurement, raised doubts over the clarity of the proposed caste census, and alleged large-scale omissions of new voters from electoral rolls.
Baghel began with a sharp political dig at the ruling party’s position in the state. “If elections were held today, BJP leaders would fit into a single Innova,” he said, adding that only Gyanesh Kumar could win elections for the party.
He also took a swipe at BJP national president Nitin Nabin’s visit to Chhattisgarh. Noting that Chath is falling on 15 November, Baghel remarked that Nabin was not going to Bihar and had instead come to Chhattisgarh after the party’s defeat in the Bihar by-elections.
Demands White Paper on Paddy Procurement
Baghel focused heavily on the state government’s preparedness for paddy procurement. He alleged that arrangements appeared inadequate and warned that merely announcing dates was not enough. Proper arrangements at procurement centres, availability of gunny bags, storage space, funds for timely payments and coordination with rice millers were essential, he said.
He asked whether sufficient storage space had been arranged at centres to hold the paddy purchased from farmers and whether the government had adequate funds ready for payments. Any delay in payment, he cautioned, would directly affect farmers’ economic condition.
Baghel also questioned the role of rice millers. He asked whether millers had deposited the entire quantity of rice from the previous year with the government and, if not, how delivery orders (DOs) for the new season would be issued. Without proper coordination and clearance of pending issues, the fresh procurement process could be disrupted, he said.
He demanded that the state government issue a white paper detailing the number of gunny bags available, storage arrangements at procurement centres, funds earmarked for farmer payments, and the status of pending cases related to rice millers. On the government’s announcement of input assistance per acre, Baghel said it was essentially a continuation of a Congress scheme.
Questions Clarity of Caste Census
Turning to the Centre, Baghel accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making false claims regarding the 2027 census. He alleged that the gazette notification did not clearly mention caste enumeration and that provisions for counting the Other Backward Classes (OBC) population were not evident.
“If the central government is talking about a caste census, why is the position on enumerating the OBC category not being clarified? Merely announcing a caste census is not enough. The actual counting of the OBC population must also be ensured,” Baghel said.
He stressed that data on the OBC population and their social conditions were essential for formulating social and economic policies, just as figures for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are used.
Alleges Missing Names of New Voters
Baghel also raised concerns over the voter list of the Bhilai Municipal Corporation. He claimed that the names of more than 5,000 new voters had not been included, potentially denying a large number of eligible young people their right to vote in the upcoming civic elections.
Extending the charge to the entire state, he alleged that around 25,000 new voters’ names were missing from electoral rolls across Chhattisgarh, many of them first-time voters belonging to the younger generation. He linked the issue to “Gen-Z,” remarking that the “Gen-Z fever” appeared to have affected the Election Commission of India as well.
Baghel demanded that the Election Commission urgently examine the voter lists of Bhilai Municipal Corporation and the rest of Chhattisgarh and include the names of all eligible new voters without delay. In a democracy, every eligible citizen has the right to vote, and the exclusion of first-time voters was a serious matter, he said.
