Raipur. Political rhetoric has intensified in Chhattisgarh regarding the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has accepted Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma's challenge for a debate. Baghel said that he is ready for the debate if a time and place is decided. In fact, Vijay Sharma, presenting the figures related to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, had claimed that in the first cabinet meeting of the new government, a decision was taken to approve and construct 18 lakh Prime Minister's houses. He said that more than 11 lakh houses under the PM Awas Yojana-Gramin have been completed so far since the formation of the government. The minister had accused the former Chief Minister of spreading confusion regarding the housing scheme and challenged him for a debate on any platform.

Bhupesh Baghel accepted the challenge, stating that he accepted Vijay Sharma's challenge and was ready for the debate. He also questioned the government regarding the housing scheme's statistics. Baghel alleged that different figures were being presented at different places regarding the Prime Minister's Housing Scheme. He said that a letter to the Chief Minister stated that 185,000 houses had been approved, while different figures were presented in Parliament. Baghel questioned which of the two was the correct figure.

The former Chief Minister claimed that more than 1.1 million homes had already been built in the state, including those built during the tenures of former Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh and his tenure. He also claimed that approximately 700,000 homes had been approved during his tenure. Baghel demanded that Vijay Sharma clarify how many homes the current government had approved and how many had been completed so far. He also claimed that 1.845 million homes had already been approved during his tenure. Now, with the two leaders accepting the challenge to a debate, the political conflict over the PM Awas Yojana data is likely to intensify.