RAIPUR: The burning issue of alleged illegal opium cultivation at a village in Durg district of Chhattisgarh became the flashpoint at Chhattisgarh assembly on Monday and the House witnessed noisy scenes after leader of opposition termed it as “Dhaan ka katora now becoming bowl of opium” and moved an adjournment motion seeking a discussion on the matter. As the Chair rejected it, opposition MLAs protested and raised slogans by trooping into the well of the House.About 29 Congress MLAs were automatically suspended after they refused to return to their seats, followed by adjournment of the House for five minutes. Coining it as “Udta Chhattisgarh” Congress alleged the state was being ruined by dry drugs, and it appeared that the govt wanted to promote opium cultivation instead of buying paddy from farmers.Leader of opposition Charandas Mahant raised the issue during zero hour bringing attention to the opium cultivation case cracked during a police raid on March 6 at Samoda village in Durg, where authorities discovered 4-5 acres of poppy crop concealed amid maize plants.The seized opium was valued at around Rs 8 crore, leading to arrests including a local BJP Kisan Morcha leader. He was promptly suspended by BJP state chief.Mahant alleged that the incident had brought “shame” to the state and accused the govt of shielding those responsible.“Just 50 kilometres from the capital, a man named Vinayak Tamrakar was cultivating opium. The collector himself has said that the crop was on his private land. It’s part of an organised crime with political protection, and the state known as the ‘bowl of rice’ was being turned into a ‘bowl of opium’.”“Without administrative support, such cultivation cannot happen. From patwari to the chief minister, everyone is responsible,” he said, demanding an investigation by an independent agency or a committee of MLAs.BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar objected to the opposition naming the chief minister in the allegations and countered that Congress leaders themselves had been aware of the cultivation for years even when Congress was in power. “The site lies about 40 km from Patan (Bhupesh Baghel’s constituency) and within a few kilometres of the residence of a minister in the previous Congress govt. How did they not know?” Chandrakar said.Former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said villagers had first spotted the crop just before Holi when they went to collect wood for Holika Dahan following which the sarpanch reported to police.“In the FIR his servant has been made the main accused while Tamrakar’s name appears later. The FIR is weak and does not even clearly mention land records. Who is being protected?” Baghel asked, demanding a detailed probe and inspections of farmhouses across the state.Several Congress MLAs supported the demand for a debate, calling it the first instance of opium cultivation being recorded in the assembly proceedings. Congress MLA Umesh Patel alleged that a ruling party functionary was involved and that the farmhouse had CCTV cameras and bouncers deployed to keep villagers away.Responding to the allegations, deputy chief minister and home minister Vijay Sharma said Durg police had received a tip-off on about illegal opium cultivation. “Police conducted a raid and registered a case under the NDPS Act. The next day, seizure proceedings were carried out in the presence of a judicial magistrate. Three accused were arrested on the spot and produced before the court,” Sharma said.He added that 6,242 kg of opium plants and related material worth over ₹8 crore were seized during the operation and that police teams had been sent to Jodhpur to trace two absconding accused.Sharma said the government had intensified its crackdown on narcotics, noting that in the past two years more than 5,000 accused had been arrested in over 2,000 NDPS cases and district-level task forces had been set up to curb drug trafficking. Financial investigations were also being conducted and properties worth over ₹16 crore seized from accused persons, he said.Despite the govt’s reply, Congress members insisted that the issue warranted a full discussion in the House and continued shouting slogans before being suspended.