Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and his cabinet colleague TS Singh Deo, who are locked in a power tussle, are likely to meet the Congress high command separately in Delhi in the coming days, party functionaries said on Saturday.
The developments come a week after Singh Deo quit a portfolio he held in the Baghel cabinet.
“The chief minister will be reaching Delhi on Saturday evening. He has some other meetings and can also meet Congress high command to explain recent political developments in the state,” said a functionary close to Baghel.
Singh Deo, who is also reaching the national capital on Saturday, said he has sought time to meet the party top brass.
“I have asked for time and will meet the high command if I get time,” Singh Deo said.
The rift in the ruling Congress in the state deepened on July 16 when Singh Deo resigned from the Panchayat and Rural development department, one of the five portfolios he held.
He continues to remain minister for health and family welfare, medical education, twenty point implementation and commercial tax (GST) departments.
{{/usCountry}}He continues to remain minister for health and family welfare, medical education, twenty point implementation and commercial tax (GST) departments.
{{/usCountry}}In his resignation letter to the chief minister, Singh Deo alleged that not a single house was built for homeless people under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana as funds were not allotted despite “repeated request”.
He also alleged he was unable to fulfil the targets of the department as per the vision of the Jan Ghoshna Patra (poll manifesto) amid the “current scenario”.
The charges echoed in the state assembly on July 20 when the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded a statement from Baghel on the matter. The BJP claimed that Singh Deo himself has expressed “no confidence” in the government’s functioning, leading to a “constitutional crisis”.
On Thursday, Baghel handed over the charge of panchayat and rural development department to senior minister Ravindra Chaubey.