Upset Chhattisgarh minister gives up a portfolio

RAIPUR: Senior minister T S Singhdeo triggered a storm in the governing Congress in Chhattisgarh by “relinquishing” his panchayat and rural development portfolio on Saturday evening. He said i n a four-page letter to CM Bhupesh Baghel that he was dismayed to see that the draft he had sent for implementation of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, or Pesa, had been changed without his knowledge.
He will continue to hold the portfolios of health, medical education, commercial taxes (GST) and 20-point programme implementation, sources close to him confirmed. Neither CM Baghel nor AICC in-charge of Chhattisgarh P L Puniahas reacted to the development.