Vijay Sharma is the MLA from the Kawardha constituency and currently serves as the Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. He had served as the State President of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. Over the years, he has been actively involved in several protests, including those related to paddy procurement and ration card distribution.

In this episode of the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Deputy CM Vijay Sharma speaks about the recruitment of minors by Naxal groups, the overall law and order situation in the state, and whether journalists are safe in Chhattisgarh. He also shares an update on the murder case of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar and strongly criticises the previous Congress government, accusing it of widespread corruption under Bhupesh Baghel’s leadership

00:00 – Introduction

00:19 – From School Teacher to a Politician

03:46 – First-Time MLA to Home Minister

04:29 – Naxalism in Chhattisgarh

10:56 – Ceasefire: A Naxal Tactic?

13:32 – Minors in Naxalism

16:05 – Anti-Naxal Ops or Revenge Killing?

17:20 – Rehabilitation for Naxals

22:14 – Modern Weapons for Police

25:31 – Cyber Crimes in Chhattisgarh

29:25 – Balodabazar Violence

32:53 – Overcrowding in Jails

36:31 – Mukesh Chandrakar Murder Case

39:26 – Human-Animal Conflict

47:29 – Forced Religious Conversion

51:32 – Impact of Waqf Act

53:18 – Metro in Chhattisgarh

54:24 – Government Policies