The Congress slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah for claiming on Saturday that the Bhupesh Baghel government in Chhattisgarh had made progress only in the rising number of crimes against women as well as corruption.
Shah was speaking at a Bharatiya Janata Party rally in Korba, some 215 kilometres from here, earlier in the day.
Hitting back, Sushil Anand Shukla, head of the state Congress' communication wing, said, "Union Minister Shah has insulted the mothers and sisters of Chhattisgarh by making false statements during his speech in Korba. Shah said cases of rape have increased in the state but the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data released by his department shows rape cases have halved after the Congress was elected to power."
"The state has reported a decline of 80 per cent in the incidents of Naxalite violence. How can a person occupying such an important post lie," Shukla asked.
Later, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel met Shah at Raipur airport and discussed issues about the development of the state, officials said.
Baghel tweeted pictures of him meeting Shah at Swami Vivekananda Airport here and offering him products prepared from millets and an artefact based on the culture of Chhattisgarh.