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| Photo Credit: Reuters
Opposition Congress MLAs on Thursday (March 12, 2026) claimed that people in Chhattisgarh have been facing a shortage of cooking gas cylinders, demanding a discussion in the State Assembly on the measures being taken to ensure smooth supply amid the West Asia conflict.
The Opposition’s demand for discussion was disallowed by the Chairperson who cited that the matter pertained to the Centre. The Congress MLAs trooped into the Well of the House raising slogans against the government, leading to their automatic suspension.
The issue was raised by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Charan Das Mahant during the Zero Hour. Mr. Mahant said that while the chief minister had earlier assured that Chhattisgarh would not face any scarcity, prices were hiked the very next day.
He demanded a discussion on the subject which was opposed by Ajay Chandrakar from the Treasury Bench who said that it was not a subject of the State government.
Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel from the Congress said that hoarding and black marketing were issues that the State government must address. This lead to uproar following which the Chair adjourned the proceedings for five minutes.
When the House resumed, the LoP said that cylinder consumers in the State were facing difficulties and demanded strict measures to prevent black-marketing. He also said that cooking gas cylinders were needed during weddings too and those were also affected.
Mr. Baghel, too said, that while lives across the country were affected by the ongoing conflict involving the U.S., Israel and Iran. He claimed that commercial gas cylinder supply had been disrupted in Chhattisgarh with reports of hotels being shut down.
Claiming that shortage had led to hoarding and black marketing, Mr. Baghel said that in such a situation, the government should inform the House about the stock of domestic and commercial LPG cylinders and what arrangements were being made to ensure smooth supply and prevent black-marketing and hoarding.
He urged the Chair to accept the adjournment notice and hold a discussion in the interest of the public. However, the Chair disallowed the motion, stating that the matter pertained to the Centre.
Opposition members then started raising slogans and entered the well of the House.
As the members trooped into the Well, they were automatically suspended. The Chair announced the suspension of 30 Congress MLAs, but their suspension was revoked a while later.
Published – March 13, 2026 04:41 am IST
