CM Baghel Criticizes BJP, Suggests They Would Give Chhattisgarh to Adani

Raipur: Chief Miner Bhupesh Baghel of Chhattisgarh has made allegations against the Central BJP government, expressing concerns about the raids conducted agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax (IT) department and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
He believes that these operations pose a threat to democracy. Baghel suggests that there may be intentions within the government to allocate Chhattisgarh’s coal and iron ore reserves to industrial Adani. With elections in mind, he cautions that voting for BJP could mean giving away Chhattisgarh’s resources to the Adani Group.
The backdrop for Baghel’s remarks is the ED’s allegations of irregularities in Chhattisgarh’s coal and liquor sectors since October 2022. Ahead of the elections, there have been claims of money laundering associated with the ‘Mahadev’ app, with accusations targeting individuals such as politicians, business leaders and senior adminrators. It is worth noting that associates and family members of CM Baghel, including his advisor Vinod Verma, have faced scrutiny and raids related to the Mahadev app controversy.
Baghel sees these ED operations as efforts to tarnish his government’s reputation. On a Sunday, as he spoke to journals at the Raipur helipad, he confidently stated that the central agencies are being utilized the government led the BJP for their own political advantage. He cited comments BJP’s state in-charge, Om Mathur, as evidence of this. Baghel criticized the manner in which these agencies hop from one department to another in search of discrepancies, emphasizing that the core objective behind these actions is solely political.