RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has launched a scathing attack on the BJP and central agencies on Monday, calling the Enforcement Directorate's claim of unearthing a Rs 2,000 crore scam "concocted" and aimed at discrediting his government when the assembly elections are round the corner.
"Everyone knows that the only job of ED is to work for the benefit of BJP in the elections and work like a political agent for them. The liquor scam charges are fabricated. The CAG has already given the Excise department a clean chit and there has been no change done in liquor policy made by the BJP government in 2017,” he told reporters at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in the state capital.
Baghel said that the ED claims were baseless and the BJP in its desperation in the election year was trying to defame the Congress government using central agencies like the ED.
The chief minister was referring to the ED’s statement on an alleged multi-crore liquor scam in state after the recent arrest of the Raipur mayor’s brother Anwar Dhebar. ED has claimed that the scam involves senior officials and political executives as well as corruption and money laundering to the tune of Rs 2000 crore.
"Chhattisgarh has recorded a continuous rise in revenue collection from liquor trade and there were the same people, policies going on in liquor trade which was introduced by BJP during its regime", the chief minister said.
"The allegations are being levelled because of the upcoming elections and though ED/IT raided many places but have never revealed what have they found. This is a clear conspiracy and BJP’s Raman Singh and his team are at it. But we are not going to get scared or troubled by these attempts because we have shown an increase in revenue. Congress government will continue to expose such conspiracies as the party had done earlier", Baghel said.
"It was in February 2020 when the Income Tax department raided excise department officials and there were several rumours but the IT department didn’t issue any statement about the findings. Later in March 2023, ED searched again. Apparently, they couldn’t unearth anything either, which is why the agency didn’t issue a press note. Rather, the ED officials are summoning officers, forcing them to sit in their office day long till late night and force them to sign on an already printed paper or threaten them to book their family members in false cases,” the chief minister said.
He said the central agencies, which are carrying out their investigations in Chhattisgarh for the last three years, have not yet revealed any seizure of movable and immovable properties found during their investigations but now the ED has come up with a press release claiming that there is a Rs 2000 crore liquor scam. “Whatever the conspiracy, your political masters will never succeed and the people of Chhattisgarh and the Congress government will expose such conspiracies”, he added.
Assembly elections are scheduled to be held by November this year.
