Chhattisgarh CM Baghel says ‘ED is trying to tarnish my image’ after receiving notice

CM Baghel made these allegations following a recent ED raid on his residence and the residences of several other Congress leaders in the state. The ED alleged that these leaders were involved in money laundering and other financial irregularities.

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Chhattisgarh Elections 2023: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of trying to tarnish his reputation ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in the state. He has also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are using central investigation agencies to attack the ruling Congress party in the state after failing to defeat it in a fair fight.

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The ED earlier on Friday claimed that a forensic analysis and a statement from a ‘cash courier’ have led to “startling allegations” that Mahadev gambling app promoters have so far paid around Rs 508 crore to the Chhattisgarh chief minister, and that “ these are subjects of research”.

Baghel, in a social media post uploaded late in the evening, said, “As I have said earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party wants to contest the Chhattisgarh elections with the help of agencies like ED, IT, DRI and CBI. Just before the elections, ED made the most malicious attempt to tarnish my image. This is a political attempt through ED to discredit the popular Congress government.”

In the name of investigation into the Mahadev gambling app, the ED first raided the houses of people close to him and now, based on the statement of an unknown person, accused him of collecting Rs 508 crore, he said.

“See the cunning of ED that after revealing the statement of that person, she wrote in a short sentence that the statement is a subject of investigation. When no investigation has been done, issuing a press release on the statement of one person not only reflects the intentions of the ED but also reveals the evil intentions of the central government,” Baghel said.

“Currently, elections are going on in the state. Everything is in the hands of the election commission. Besides the police, CRPF personnel carry out checks. In such a situation, the question arises as to how people managed to reach Chhattisgarh with such a huge amount of cash. Is there also any involvement of central agencies in this? Was this amount brought into the boxes that reached Raipur by a special plane carrying ED officers and security forces? he asked.

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Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Shah together were unable to take on the Congress in Chhattisgarh, so they wanted to contest the elections with the help of research agencies, Baghel claimed.

“I have made statements to the emergency room and told people how the emergency room works. She first determines the names of the people and then arrests them, intimidates them and forces them to make statements against others. They (ED) can go to any extent because hitting and threatening are normal things,” he said.

Congress workers are ready and the people of Chhattisgarh are with them to fight against agencies like ED and IT, the chief minister said. The elections to the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17.

(With inputs from PTI)