Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur asserted on Saturday (December 16) that the liquor, coal, and Mahadev app scams in Chhattisgarh are intertwined with Jharkhand, where a significant amount of Rs 353 crore in cash was seized from a Congress MP, news agency PTI reported.
Highlighting instances of Congress leaders being apprehended with black money, Thakur, addressing reporters in Bilaspur, attributed the party's opposition to demonetisation, as well as its resistance to the Central Bureau of India (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED), to these incidents.
"There are several examples of Congress leaders being caught with black money, which is the reason the party was against demonetisation and is opposed to the Central Bureau of India and Enforcement Directorate," Thakur was quoted as saying by PTI.
According to the PTI report, Thakur specifically referenced the seizure of Rs 351 crore in cash from Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Private Limited, owned by the family of Dhiraj Sahu, the Congress's Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand.
The Income Tax department labelled this recovery as the "highest-ever" haul in a single action by any probe agency in the country. Additionally, he mentioned a previous incident where Rs 42 crore was recovered from a Congress leader in Karnataka.
Alleging pervasive corruption in the Chhattisgarh Congress government, Thakur claimed that it gave rise to a saying – "Corruption Karo aur phir 'Bhu' pay Karo" – implying that Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel received kickbacks.
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Thakur attributed the BJP's success in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's widespread popularity, referring to him as the world's most popular leader.
"In 2014, the public of Himachal made BJP win four seats (of Lok Sabha) and PM Modi become the country's PM. In 2019 also, the BJP won four seats and PM Modi became the country's PM. This time, the Himachal Pradesh public will make a hat-trick and make PM Modi's government in Delhi. It will be a hat-trick of BJP's victory and a hat-trick of Congress's defeat," Thakur said while addressing rally in Bilaspur.
Thakur then accused the Congress of failing the people of Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. In Karnataka, he accused the party of being a "mute spectator" as a Dalit woman was reportedly stripped and paraded naked.
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A 42-year-old tribal woman in Belagavi was allegedly assaulted, stripped, and paraded naked by a group of people after her son eloped with a woman from another community.