Durg (Chhattisgarh) [India], March 10 : Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Monday hit out at BJP over Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at his residence, terming the move an attempt to "trouble" opposition leaders.
The ED conducted searches at the residence of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel, his son Chaitanya Baghel and others in connection with an ongoing probe into the alleged multi-crore liquor scam.
Speaking to reporters, Baghel said, "At around 7.30 in the morning I was reading the newspaper, ED came to my house and I welcomed them."
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel also addressed his supporters. "...In this time of crisis, you stood firm. I thank you with folded hands," he said.
Further explaining the turn of events, he said, "I asked them about the search warrant. He asked about my phone and I refused. We are an agricultural family and we have 140 acres of land. ED found around 33 lakhs from my home."
He further alleged the BJP of using investigative agencies to trouble opposition leaders and said, "The citizens of the country now know that the BJP uses CBI, ED to trouble others. If the search operation ended just in hours in the home of a former chief minister, then they did not find anything."
"BJP is furious due to a few reasons... One of them is that I made the General Secretary recently," he added.
In a post on X, Baghel said "ED has left the house. They found three things in my house. Pen drive containing conversation about transaction of crores between Manturam and Dr. Puneet Gupta (Dr. Raman Singh's son-in-law). Papers of SAIL company of Dr. Raman Singh's son Abhishek Singh."
"The total of farming, dairy, Stridhan and "cash in hand" in the entire joint family is about 33 lakh rupees, the account of which will be given to them. The main thing is that ED officials have not been able to provide any ECIR number," he said.
As per the sources, the raids were conducted at a total of 14 locations across Chhattisgarh in the case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the liquor trade in Chhattisgarh, involving alleged suspected illegal commissions and money laundering.
ED has alleged that Chaitanya Baghel is also "the recipient of proceeds of crime generated from the liquor scam wherein total proceeds of crime are around Rs 2,161 crore siphoned off through various schemes."
Reacting to it in a post on X, Bhupesh Baghel's office said, "When the false case going on for seven years was dismissed in the court, today the guests of ED have entered the Bhilai residence of former Chief minister and Congress General Secretary Bhupesh Baghel this morning. If someone is trying to stop Congress in Punjab through this conspiracy, then it is a misunderstanding."
Multiple ED teams launched the search operation early Monday based on specific inputs.
The ED has alleged that a cartel of government officials, politicians, and liquor businessmen ran a scheme that illegally collected around Rs 2,161 crore from the sale of liquor in the state between 2019 and 2022. The alleged scam involved manipulation of the liquor supply chain, where a cartel controlled the sale and distribution of alcohol through government-run shops.
A portion of liquor sold was allegedly not accounted for in official records, and bribes were allegedly collected from suppliers to allow its sale outside the legal system.
The investigation is based on an earlier Income Tax Department report, which flagged irregularities in the liquor trade.
The ED has arrested several key accused, including IAS officer Anil Tuteja and liquor businessman Anwar Dhebar, brother of Raipur's mayor.
The agency has earlier conducted multiple raids, including on politicians and bureaucrats linked to the previous Congress-led government in Chhattisgarh.
The move has triggered, political storm within the opoositions leaders. Congress MP Manickam Tagore came out in defense of Bhupesh Baghel and alleged that the ED was behaving like the pet dog of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Manickam Tagore said, "We all know that ED has become the pet dog of PM Modi and Union HM Amit Shah. They can send this dog anywhere they want. Bhupesh Baghel has been a strong leader for Congress, and he has fought these battles. The Congress party and the people of Chhattisgarh stand with him. We all know that these fake narratives built by the BJP and RSS will be defeated."
Reacting to the raids, Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai denied any role of the state government in it and said that it was being conducted by central agency.
Vishnu Deo Sai said, "Everyone knows that there were various scams under the Congress government, and central agencies are probing them. Some people are in jail, and some others are getting ready to go to jail. A central agency is conducting the probe; the state has no role to play in this."
Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Arun Sao asked how can one deny that there were big scams during Bhupesh Baghel's tenure and the raids were not a sudden action.
Arun Sao said, "How can one deny that there have been big scams during the tenure of Bhupesh Baghel? ED action has been going on for a long time. It is not that any sudden action has been taken today. ED has been investigating for a long time. In the process of investigation, they must have found some facts and suspicions, and on the basis of that, ED has taken this action, and if you have no role, then there should be no reason to be afraid or panic."