Tension gripped Chhattisgarh on Saturday after former state home minister and senior BJP leader Nankiram Kanwar was kept under police watch at a community hall in Tatibandh, Raipur.
The development quickly snowballed into a controversy, with Kanwar describing it as “house arrest” while officials insisted it was only a security arrangement.
Kanwar, a veteran tribal leader, lost no time in training guns on Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Korba district collector Ajit Vasant. “Thousands of homes were demolished without compensation. What use is such a Chief Minister? If this continues, I will dissolve my own government,” he told reporters soon after being confined.
He also voiced resentment at being sidelined within the party, warning that rank and file dissatisfaction could hurt the BJP at the hustings. “Ask the people, if things remain this way, the BJP will not win more than 10 to 15 seats in the next election,” he said.
Raipur SSP Lal Ummad Singh, however, dismissed the charge of house arrest. Speaking to The Statesman, he said, “This is not a house arrest. Protesters are still present at the venue. Police are deployed only from a security standpoint.”
The Congress promptly seized on the row. State Congress president Deepak Baij and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel both reacted sharply, portraying the episode as evidence of internal strife within the ruling party. Baghel posted on X, “At a time when Union Home Minister Amit Shah is in Bastar reviewing arrangements, senior tribal BJP leader Nankiram Kanwar is under house arrest in Raipur. This shows the BJP is stifling tribal voices, even those within its own fold.”