Six months after Bhupesh Baghel became the chief minister of Chhattisgarh, he held his first 'Jan Chaupal' at the CM's official residence in the state capital, Raipur.

However, the meeting soon came in to the news for causing inconvenience and hurting the sentiments of the local people.

On the very first day of the 'Jan Chaupal', people were asked to remove their traditional 'Gamchha' before going in for the meeting. The security officials present at the spot cited some security reasons for doing this. 'gamchha' is a traditional cloth worn by native Chattisgarhis as a mark of their pride and identity.

The people said that CM also wears the 'gamchha'. "It is a mark of respect for us. We never thought that they will behave in this way with us," said a visitor at CM's residence.

Deeply saddened by the way he was treated at the 'Jan Chaupal', poet Mir Ali Mir went away without meeting the CM. "Gamchha is a matter of pride for us. Being told to remove it has deeply hurt our self-esteem," said Mir expressing his displeasure. "We had come here to see how a Chhattisgarhi CM behaves with us but now we are going without even meeting him," he added.

When the CM learnt about this, he grilled his security officials. "The insult of Chattisgarh's identity and dignity will not be tolerated," said Baghel. Soon after the CM reprimanded the security officials, they allowed the people to attend the 'Jan Chaupal' with the 'gamchha'. Interestingly, Ravindra Choubey, a Congress minister was seen wearing the 'gamchha' during the meet.

On learning about the entire incident, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the government's act. The party also said that if the state government continues to insult the people of Chhattisgarh in this way, the party will hold protests and demonstrations across the state.

― Zee Media Newsroom