Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government at the Centre of weakening the constitutional institutions in the country. Talking to media persons in the state capital before leaving for the Katghora legislative assembly of Korba district, Chief Minister Baghel said that where there are non-BJP governments, they want to control them through the Raj Bhavan. The condition is the same in all the states, he added.

Asked on Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud for the inclusion of government representatives in selection of the judges, the Chief Minister said that Rahul Gandhi has been telling from the beginning that the BJP government wants to weaken the constitutional institutions. In Chhattisgarh, the Governor is not signing the reservation amendment bills, saying that the bills will not stand in the court. How does she know? Isn’t it interference? She has already accepted that the bills will not stand in court. It shows that the BJP government wants to control other constitutional institutions whether it is executive, legislature or judiciary. Rahul Gandhi is not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha, that is why Rahul Ji is taking Bharat Jodo Yatra, said Baghel. Asked on another query over security warning to Rahul Gandhi for his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Baghel said that earlier the Union Health Minister had written a letter to Rahul Gandhi to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra, saying that the corona may spread. No security was provided to Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Delhi. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary was forced to write a letter raising Rahul Gandhi’s security concern. After the Central government scrapped Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, then there should be no security problem in Jammu and Kashmir.

It has been two years since Article 370 was removed, he added. Why isn’t the BJP giving security to Rahul Gandhi now? The BJP wants to stop the Yatra, it is scared of it. Now, the BJP is making another excuse to disturb the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said. The Chief Minister said that after the formation of the Congress government, the farmers of the state, who had started leaving the farming profession, have returned to farming. Number of farmers increased from 15 lakh to 24-25 lakh. So far, more than 22 lakh farmers have sold paddy in the state. On the other hand, during the BJP rule, only 15 lakh farmers used to sell paddy. There is an increase in 9-10 lakh farmers in the last four years and agriculture acreage has also increased under the Congress rule and it shows that agriculture is a profitable profession. The BJP and the Central government doubled the expenditure by talking about doubling the income. But the Congress government in Chhattisgarh has really doubled the income of farmers in the state, he added.