RAIPUR, Sept. 15 -- Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday locked horns over the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), challenging each other's claims on houses sanctioned, pending, and completed.

The face-off at the Raipur Press Club, after Sharma challenged Baghel to a debate on PMAY, saw both sides release competing figures and accuse the other of misleading people. A key dispute centred on the BJP government's figure of 18 lakh houses, which Baghel claimed it falsely presented as "sanctioned" units.

Sharma, who holds the panchayat and rural development portfolio, rejected the charge, saying that the Centre, not the state, sanctions PMAY houses. He clarif...