"The area where the skirmish took place is considered a bastion of Naxals and we had planned to set up a camp of security forces there and therefore, they (Maoists) were frustrated," the chief minister said.

Sonia Gandhi took over as interim Congress president after Rahul Gandhi resigned in the wake of the party's Lok Sabha debacle in May 2019.

Baghel was quoted by a newspaper saying "as far as Sachin Pilot is concerned, not that I have been tracking the Rajasthan events so closely, but it does make one curious why Omar Abdullah was released? He and Mehbooba Muftiji were booked under the same Sections of the law, while she is still languishing, he is out. Is it because Mr. Abdullah is brother-in-law of Sachin Pilot?"

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in a video-conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other 29 chief ministers, said on Monday that state governments should be given the right to take decisions on the resumption of economic activities within their states.

Amid rising COVID-19 cases in the country, Chhattisgarh government on Thursday declared holiday in schools and colleges till March 31 as a precautionary measure in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak in several parts of the country.

A day after Union MinisterJyotiraditya Scindia resigned from the Congress, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said those who quit the party after raising a hue and cry, eventually return silently.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday termed US President Donald Trump's upcoming visit to India as a "campaign" for the presidential polls in that country. He said Trump is seeking votes of Indians settled in the US by visiting India.

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed trial in the Chhatisgarh sleaze CD matter, where Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has been alleged to be an accused.

  A special court in Durg district in Chhattisgarh has accepted a closure report filed by police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in a 2017 case lodged against Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and his family members for alleged irregularities in a land allotment in an over two-decade-old housing scheme.

The remark comes amid reports of Rahul's close aides in the party being allegedly targeted and senior leader Salman Khursid's statement about a leadership "vacuum" that caused a flutter in the Congress.

The Union government earlier this year introduced 10 per cent reservation in EWS segment of general category and since then the opposition BJP had been demanding its implementation in Chhattisgarh.

Addressing the gathering after hoisting the national flag at Police Parade Ground in Raipur, Baghel also announced creation of a new district, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, taking the number of districts in the state to 28.  

Thakur is out on bail in the 2008 blast case and she is under fire for claiming that IPS officer Hemant Karkare was killed during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack as she had "cursed" him for "torturing" her.

"I want to contest election against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If Congress gives me a ticket, I will contest to defeat him and make Rahul Gandhi the next Prime Minister of India", said Nand Kumar Baghel

CM Baghel's decision comes months after West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh governments withdrew the general consent accorded to the CBI to probe cases in the state.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday assigned portfolios to his Cabinet colleagues, keeping finance and mining with himself and giving the crucial home department to senior leader Tamradhwaj Sahu.

While the state Congress leaders hailed the Cabinet expansion for giving representation to leaders from all sections and regions, the opposition BJP said it showed "differences" within the ruling party.

Over 1,700 tribal farmers in Chhattisgarh worst naxal-hit Bastar area will get back more than 1,700 hectares of land acquired for now-abandoned Tata steel project, state government officials said on Monday.

TS Singh Deo and Tamradhwaj Sahu had taken oath as ministers on December 17 when Baghel sworn in as chief minister.  

Baghel said his government will devise a new strategy that will involve talks with people affected by Naxal activities, including tribals, and others to resolve the three-decade-old Maoist problem that has claimed several lives.