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Opposition walkout in Assembly

Distribution of cows in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: Opposition Congress on Friday staged a walkout from the Chhattisgarh Assembly after grilling the BJP government on its cow distribution scheme for tribals.

The Congress criticised the government when Agriculture Minister Nanki Ram Kanwar said cows were not covered under any insurance scheme because of objection from Finance Department.

Due to the lack of a proper policy, several animals, that were distributed among the poor tribals by the state government, died, Dharamjeet Singh of Congress said.

Raising the issue in the Question Hour, Singh and several Congress members expressed concern that 670 cows out of 5967 in Bastar district and 350 cows out of 1208 in Bilaspur died last fiscal.

Similarly, upto February 1 this year, 21 oxen out of 1096 in Bilaspur, 202 of of 4177 oxen in Korba district, distributed free of cost by the State Government, died, the Agriculture Minister said.

However, because of the objection from Finance Department, the cows and oxen could not be covered under the insurance scheme, the Minister said.

On this, the Opposition expressed surprise as Chief Minister Raman Singh is holding the Finance portfolio.

When crores of rupees are being spent on the cow scheme, why are they not being insured, Dharamjeet asked. It was a ``deliberate attempt to supply those animals which will die,'' Satyanarayan Sharma of Congress said and the members of the party staged a walkout from the House. - PTI

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Opposition walkout in Assembly

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