In what could be a desperate effort to dispel the fear that the BJP appears ill-prepared to take on the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh, the principal Opposition party organised a mega rally to protest against the Baghel dispensation over the state’s reluctance to implement Narendra Modi-led Central government’s flagship PM Housing Scheme.

The party which had an uninterrupted 15-year rule in Chhattisgarh, claimed that it has galvanised more than one Lakh people in its ‘Mor Awas, Mor Adhikar’ rally held at capital Raipur today. BJP’s state president Arun Sao said if voted to power in assembly elections due later this year, his party’s chief minister will enter his official residence only after giving an approval to the PM Awas Yojana.

The Saffron party laid siege to the state assembly today demanding immediate implementation of PMAY in the state. On the occasion, Sao washed the feet of eligible beneficiaries.

The protest was punctuated by minor scuffles between the police and the BJP workers when the protestors tried to break the barricades. The police had to resort to busting of water cannons to disperse the advancing mob.

The move assumes significance in the wake of the rising perception that the faction-ridden BJP fared poorly as an Opposition party during the last four years of Baghel reign. The saffron party known for its offensive has, so far, failed to corner the Congress government.

However, this mega rally may alter the perception as well as despondency in its ranks and may even infuse a fresh lease of life into its cadre. Housing for 16 lakh the urban and rural poor could prove a game changer for the party if played out well, say observers.

Former chief minister Dr. Raman Singh said, “Corruption has become a new norm in the Congress regime. Senior officials are going to jail after ED and IT raids. We will build 16 lakh houses for the poor households if voted to power”.  He also asked the Baghel government to clarify what was the reason for the then Panchayat and Rural Development Minister T S Singh Deo to resign?

State BJP in-charge Om Mathur exhorted the workers to keep the movement alive till November and throw away the corrupt Congress regime. Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghuvar Das alleged that liquor, and coal syndicates are being run under the protection of the government in Chhattisgarh, and the same is also going on in Jharkhand.