ED Raids In Chhattisgarh Politically Motivated Move To Fail Congress Plenary Session: CM Bhupesh Baghel

CM Bhupesh Baghel said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is perturbed by the success of Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra and so it is resorting to such tactics.

New Delhi: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday said the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) raids at the premises of Congress leaders in the state is a move to fail the party’s plenary session where a roadmap for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be discussed, news agency ANI reported.

“This convention will prove to be a milestone in time to come. ED raid is right on time to fail this convention. If they are talking about coal scam, when did it occur? It has been eight months. What did you unearth? You should have had concrete evidence by now,” ANI quoted CM Baghel as saying.

“But you didn't find anything. ED has not released any press release. The convention is going to be held in two days, so you're doing this to scare the workers and fail the convention. That's the only goal,” he added.

CM Baghel further said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is perturbed by the success of Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra and so it is resorting to such tactics.

“BJP is perturbed and scared of Congress. Bharat Jodo Yatra was a success. Public gave a terrific response to comments that used to be made about Rahul Gandhi. BJP, especially its team that did trolling, had gone on back foot,” Baghel said.

The chief minister termed the raids as a "politically motivated" move by the saffron party and said the action was carried out to garner political benefits.

Earlier this week, the ED searches were conducted at over a dozen locations related to MLA Devendra Yadav in Bhilai (Durg district), Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee treasurer Ramgopal Agrawal, chairman of Chhattisgarh State Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board Sushil Sunny Agrawal and party's state spokesperson RP Singh in Raipur. The ED raids also covered premises of some other ruling party leaders and MLAs.

The ED probe relates to "a massive scam in which an illegal levy of Rs 25 was being extorted for every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by a cartel involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen", according to the agency.