Raipur, June 29: The flames of Silger police firing have started reaching various parts of the state. MLA and Parliamentary Secretary Indra Sah Mandavi was compelled to run away from the stage of Sarva Adiwasi Samaj leaving his mic on Tuesday in Rajnandgaon. He was invited to speak on the issues faced by the tribals and the possible remedy.
As soon as the MLA Mandavi started speaking on the welfare steps taken by the ruling Bhupesh Baghel government, one tribal leader Sudesh Tikam reached on the stage and asked him to speak on the Silger issue. After the parliamentary secretary denied doing so, Tikam also tried to snatch his mic.
Notably, police fired on unarmed protesting tribals demanding dismantling of CRPF camp at Silger in the insurgency-hit Sukma district on May 17 resulting in the death of three tribal villagers and around 18 people injured in the gun firing, followed by a stampede near a camp.
Later on, a pregnant lady was injured in the incident. Till date, tribals are continuously registering to protest against the Baghel government.
Silger firing incident is counted among the several prominent issues in the state which is continuously giving headaches to the Baghel government.
However, amid hooting and chaos, MLA Mandavi left the podium. Unfortunately, the issue got captured on the camera and became viral on the internet.
The protestors also burnt the effigy of CM Baghel and raised sloganeering. Tribal demonstrators also jammed the traffic leading to major wheel halt in the city for several minutes, locals complained.
The incident has been observed by political pundits as continuous loosening of grip on tribal vote bank. It is the tribal vote bank that pushed Congress party into power after an exile of 15 years.
