Chhattisgarh Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar and Jashpur Collector L S Ken today sparred over the alleged corruption in distribution of ration cards at a public event.
Sparks flew when Kanwar, also the guardian minister of the district, pulled up the collector for "inaction" in curbing "corruption in making and distributing ration cards".
Unable to stand up the dressing down in public as he was sharing the dais with the minister at the school enrolment drive--Shala Pravesh Utsav--held in Dodka village, Ken hit back at Kanwar asking him to prove the charges.
The collector asked the minister to disclose the information on corruption and name the corrupt officials, saying he has not received any complaint in writing regarding any graft.
Kanwar retorted saying "Am I telling a lie? How can you argue with a minister".
When contacted, Union minister and acting president of state unit Congress, Charandas Mahant slammed Kanwar, saying the minister often resorts to such gimmicks to score political brownie points.
"Home minister Kanwar should dare to take action against the officials responsible for corruption instead of giving statements in public," Mahant said in a release.
He also said that if the minister has any information on corruption in the issuance of ration cards then he has the right to take action.
"But he is just gaining cheap publicity by making statements in public," Mahant added.
