The BJP launched a sharp attack on Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday, accusing him of having received hawala money as a kickback from illegal betting operators in order to fund the Congress campaign for the State’s upcoming Assembly election.
Union Minister Smriti Irani made these allegations against Mr Baghel at a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi stating that “never before in our electoral history had people seen such evidence of such things”. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing allegations in connection with the Mahadev betting App scam.
“Satta [power] mein rah kar satta [betting] ka khel khela hai [he has played the game of betting while being in power],” she said.
‘Targeted by Central agencies’
Mr Baghel has in turn accused the BJP of using central investigation agencies to target him ahead of the Assembly polls in the State on November 7 and 17.
Ms. Irani responded by saying that the ED’s probe was based on the details of investigations by police in Chhattisgarh as well as Andhra Pradesh and asked if Mr Baghel was putting his own government in the dock.
Citing the probe, she said more than ₹64 crore protection money was also given to authorities by illegal betting operators.
There are voice messages and statements of the accused linking the use of betting money for funding the Congress’ campaign in the State and kickbacks given to Baghel, she claimed.
The ED had on Friday claimed that a forensic analysis and a statement made by a “cash courier” have led to “startling allegations” that Mahadev betting app promoters paid about ₹508 crore to the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister so far, and that “these are subject matter of investigation”.
