T S Singh Deo to be deputy chief minister of Chhattisgarh
New Delhi, Jun 28: Chhattisgarh minister T S Singh Deo will be the deputy chief minister of the state with the ruling Congress clearing his appointment on Wednesday, months ahead of the assembly elections.
According to a party statement issued here, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the proposal for the appointment of Singh Deo as the deputy chief minister in Chhattisgarh.
Singh Deo and Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel have been engaged in a power tussle since the party came to power in the state in 2018.
Singh Deo claimed earlier that the party leadership had promised that he and Baghel would hold the chief minister's post alternately, a claim rejected by Baghel.
Baghel had also paraded the MLAs loyal to him before the party leadership a few months ago when Singh Deo stepped up efforts to replace Baghel as chief minister.
Both Baghel and Singh Deo were in the national capital to hold the party's strategy meet for the assembly polls later this year.
Sources said the party's general secretary in-charge for Chhattisgarh Kumari Selja sent a proposal to appoint Singh Deo as the deputy chief minister and it was cleared by party chief Kharge.
Baghel and Singh Deo also met Kharge at his residence after the strategy meeting.
Baghel later tweeted a picture of him and Singh Deo, both beaming, and said, "We are ready. Congratulations and best wishes to Maharaj Saheb for his responsibility as Deputy Chief Minister."
AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal tweeted, "He (Singh Deo) is a loyal Congress leader and an able administrator. The state will benefit greatly from his services as Deputy CM. We are confident that the people of Chhattisgarh will re-elect the Congress with a thumping majority under the leadership of Kharge ji and Rahul Gandhi ji."
The Congress is seeking to retain power in Chhattisgarh and is projecting unity in the party unit.
हैं तैयार हम.
— Bhupesh Baghel (@bhupeshbaghel) June 28, 2023
महाराज साहब को उपमुख्यमंत्री के रूप में दायित्व के लिए बधाई एवं शुभकामनाएँ. @TS_SinghDeo pic.twitter.com/1sRZqsEU2W
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Pal to visit Hubballi & Vijayapura to interact with farmers affected by Waqf Board action: BJP MP
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Tuesday said the Chairperson of Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 Jagdambika Pal will visit Hubballi and Vijayapura in Karnataka on November 7 to interact with farmers allegedly affected by Waqf Board's "predatory action".
The response came days after Surya had requested Pal to invite farmers from Vijayapura district as witnesses to discuss their land disputes with the Waqf Board.
"Chairman of JPC on Waqf has kindly consented to my request to visit Hubli (Hubballi) and Bijapur (Vijayapura) on 7th November to interact with farmers affected by the Waqf’s predatory action. Chairman will interact with farmer organisations, Mutts and petitions given to him will be placed before JPC," the Bengaluru South MP, who is a member of the Committee, said.
In a October 29 letter, Surya highlighted about his recent meeting with a delegation of farmers from Vijayapura district and other areas in the vicinity and had requested Pal to visit the affected regions in Karnataka to receive complaints and grievances and also have a public hearing with the farmers adversely impacted by the Waqf Board's action.
"These farmers, who have cultivated their lands for nearly a century, maintain records dating back to the 1920s and 1930s. In recent months, however, many of them have been served notices declaring their lands as Waqf property, without any accompanying evidence or explanation. The scale of these claims is substantial, with nearly 1,500 acres being designated as Waqf property in their village alone," he alleged in his letter to Pal.
According to him, the farmers claimed that apart from being served notices, changes have been made in the RTC (Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops), 'pahani' and mutation registers for some of the land parcels without following the due process of law.
Following allegations by a section of farmers from Vijayapura district that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, Karnataka Chief Minister Sidddaramaiah has said that none of them will be evicted, and notices issued to them will be withdrawn.
