Union Home Minister Amit Shah on September 2 launched an ‘Aaorp Patra’ [chargesheet or a catalogue of allegations] against the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government in Chhattisgarh alleging that it was deeply entrenched in corruption, dynastic politics and casteism.
Accusing the State government of indulging in scams, abetting religious conversions and committing atrocities, Mr. Shah said that as far as the people were concerned, the Congress regime was equivalent to “tasting poison”.
“The people of Chhattisgarh have to decide whether they want the Baghel-led government that indulges in corruption to the tune of thousands of crores or the BJP government which is going to lead them on the path of development. The people of Chhattisgarh have to decide whether they want the government that came to power on the promise of protecting tribal rights but allowed a wave of religious conversions to be unleashed,” he said, while exuding confidence that the BJP would win the Assembly election due later this year.
Referring to the recent money laundering case related to the Mahadev online betting app, he asked whether the people of Chhattisgarh wanted a government that was pushing youth to online betting or a BJP government that ensured the welfare of youths.
“And now they [those in government] are afraid that their names may be spilled by the ones who have been sent to jail. In coal [levy], a scandal of ₹2,000 crore has taken place in which [a commission of] ₹25 per tonne has been fixed. A scandal of ₹4,000 crore has taken place in forest department tenders,” he added.
The Baghel-led government had broken all records of corruption, he said, adding that if the BJP is elected to power, those who indulged in graft would be “hung upside down”.
‘Promises not kept’
He termed the government an “ATM for Delhi Durbar”, a reference to the Congress’ national leadership and the Gandhi family that the BJP has often mentioned in the past. Incidentally, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi also addressed a public meeting in Raipur.
The BJP leader also targeted the State government over unfulfilled promises. “He [Mr. Baghel] made 36 big promises and 19 of them remain unfulfilled. Among the smaller promises, 316 still remain unfulfilled. Let them publish the list of unfulfilled promises. Even if they don’t, we have published the complete list of your false promises in our ‘Aarop Patra’ ,” said Mr. Shah.
