Sun Sep 07 07:53:51 UTC 2025: **Summary:**

Kedar Kashyap, a Chhattisgarh Cabinet Minister and senior BJP leader, is accused of assaulting and verbally abusing a government employee, Khitendra Pandey, at a circuit house in Jagdalpur. Pandey filed a police complaint alleging that Kashyap physically assaulted him after accusing him of not unlocking a room. Kashyap denies the allegations, claiming the Congress party is spreading lies. The opposition Congress party is demanding a public apology, legal action, and Kashyap’s removal from the cabinet, threatening statewide demonstrations. The incident has sparked a political row, with comparisons drawn to a recent controversy in Bihar.

**News Article:**

**Chhattisgarh Minister Accused of Assaulting Government Employee; Opposition Demands Action**

**Raipur, Chhattisgarh – September 7, 2025** – A political firestorm has erupted in Chhattisgarh after Kedar Kashyap, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Cabinet Minister, was accused of assaulting and verbally abusing a government employee at a circuit house in Jagdalpur.

Khitendra Pandey, a Class IV employee at the Jagdalpur circuit house, has filed a police complaint alleging that Minister Kashyap physically assaulted him Saturday evening (September 6, 2025) after accusing him of failing to unlock a room. Pandey claims he was unaware of the room’s status and that Kashyap used abusive language towards him, including slurs, before physically assaulting him.

“I was preparing snacks for the Minister when a PSO (Personal Security Officer) told me that Mr. Kashyap was calling me…Kedar Kashyap abused me using a cuss word related to my mother and picked up a shoe. He then held me by the collar and assaulted me brutally,” Pandey stated in his complaint.

The incident has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition Congress party. Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel took to social media, demanding a public apology from the BJP and drawing parallels to a recent incident in Bihar involving abusive language directed at the Prime Minister’s mother. Baghel wrote, “Are only Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji’s mother a mother, or are all mothers also mothers? Now, the BJP has to answer this question.”

The Congress party is demanding legal action against Kashyap and his ouster from the Cabinet. A statewide demonstration has been announced for Sunday, September 7, 2025.

Minister Kashyap, who holds portfolios including Forest and Climate Change, Transport, and Parliamentary Affairs, has denied the allegations. He stated on his WhatsApp group for journalists that the Congress party is spreading lies and that the alleged incident “has not happened at all.” He further stated that, “Insulting our God-like workers is intolerable for me under any circumstances.”

*The Hindu* made repeated attempts to reach Minister Kashyap for comment but received no response.

The accusations come at a politically sensitive time and threaten to further escalate tensions between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress in Chhattisgarh.

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