CG rolls out India’s 1st ‘Jamboree’ amid BJP MP moving HC & Cong’s plaint with EOW

Raipur: Chhattisgarh has rolled out the country's first national Rover-Ranger Jamboree in Balod district, an Scouts and Guides youth event that has simultaneously become the backdrop of a bitter power tussle within the ruling BJP. The event had been clouded by an escalating dispute between two BJP leaders: Lok Sabha MP Brijmohan Agrawal and school education minister Gajendra Yadav, over who was the legitimate head of the Bharat Scouts and Guides (BSG)'s Chhattisgarh state council.Agrawal has approached Chhattisgarh high court and has filed a petition, challenging his removal as state working president of BSG. He has argued that he was elected for a five-year term and that the govt cannot simply replace an elected office-bearer by departmental order. The confrontation began on Dec 13, when the school education department issued a press note naming Yadav as ex officio president of the BSG state association. Speaking to reporters in Raipur, MP Agrawal said that he had raised the concerns and irregularities as the president, and such an event should not be held amidst discrepancies and controversies. On Jan 5, he said the state council had earlier decided to cancel the event and had conveyed that if it was held despite objections, responsibility would rest with the school education department.The row intensified after the jamboree venue was shifted from state capital Nava Raipur to a much smaller district Balod, and funds sanctioned for the event, about Rs 10 crore, according to Agrawal's camp, were routed to the Balod district education officer instead of the BSG's account. In a statement, Agrawal announced that the jamboree was being postponed, citing change of venue without the state council's consent, alleged irregularities in the tender process and what he described as an attack on the institutional autonomy of the Scouts and Guides. Agrawal has stayed away from the national event.Meanwhile, Anil Jain the national president of Bharat Scouts and Guides said, "Who becomes the president in Chhattisgarh and how the president is appointed is governed by the state's own system. When Brijmohan Agrawal was the education minister, he was the ex-officio president. Now Gajendra Yadav is the education minister, so he is the ex-officio president. This is the state's provision.""If he has gone to court, he is free to do so. There is no financial irregularity related to the Jamboree." he added.Opposition Congress has moved on the rift, alleging factionalism and corruption in the preparations for the jamboree. Congress has filed a complaint with the anti-corruption bureau and economic offences wing over alleged financial irregularities linked to the event.Yadav has rejected the accusations before the media, saying purchases have been made through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) system and that the allegations are politically motivated attempts to tarnish Chhattisgarh's image. The confrontation is being seen as an extention of an ongoing tussle between Brijmohan Agrawal and state BJP govt. The jamboree, being organised under the aegis of Bharat Scouts and Guides, New Delhi, is being held from Jan 9 to 13 in the state.