Spl session of Chg House to approve bonus to farmers begins Raipur

Spl session of Chg House to approve bonus to farmers begins Raipur, Sep 11 (PTI) The Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly Tuesday paid rich tributes to former prime minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee and three other leaders on the first day of the two-day special session.

The brief session has been convened to approve a budgetary allocation for the distribution of bonus worth Rs 2400 crore to farmers along with the minimum support price (MSP) during procurement of paddy in ongoing Kharif season.

Tributes were also paid to former Lok Sabha Speaker and Communist veteran Somnath Chatterjee, Chhattisgarh governor Balramji Dass Tandon and former Chhattisgarh minister Dr. Ramchandra Singhdeo who all died recently. As soon as the proceedings began, Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal mentioned the demise of Vajpayee and three others. Agrawal said he had always received guidance from late Tandon on various subjects.

"Chhattisgarh lost a senior politician, an able administrator as well as a social worker in the demise of Tandon," he said. The Speaker said ex-PM Vajpayee had worked for enhancing the prestige of India in the world. "Vajpayee was even admired by the Opposition not only as a great politician but also as an able parliamentarian and an orator," Agrawal said.

Vajpayee (93) died at the AIIMS in Delhi on August 16 after a prolonged illness. Tandon (90) died in Raipur on August 14 due to cardiac arrest. Chatterjee (89), who had served as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009, passed away in a Kolkata hospital on August 13. Singhdeo (88), a Congress veteran and first Finance Minister of Chhattisgarh, died after prolonged illness at a private hospital in Raipur in July this year.

Chief Minister Raman Singh, Congress Legislative Party Leader TS Singhdeo and other members also recalled a contribution of the four leaders. State unit Congress president and senior MLA Bhupesh Baghel paid homage to the people who have died due to dengue in Durg district recently. Soon after the obituary references, the House was adjourned for the day. The chief minister had announced on September 3 that the state Cabinet had made a provision of Rs 2400 crore for paying the bonus to farmers in this Kharif season.

He had announced to convene a special session to pass the provisioned allocation. Assembly polls are slated to be held in Chhattisgarh, along with Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, later this year.