 "Bhupesh Baghel")
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel today hit back at the BJP questioning why the Central government had not banned the Mahadev betting app till now. Baghel alleged that no crackdown on the betting app means Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have connections with the firm.
The Chief Minister of the poll-bound state is facing heat from the BJP after the Enforcement Directorate claimed that he was allegedly paid Rs 508 crore by Mahadev app promoters.
ED on Friday said that they have intercepted a cash courier Asim Das who was sent from UAE especially, to deliver a large amount of cash for electioneering expenses of the ruling Congress party in Chhattisgarh.
The central agency added that the arrested person, Asim Das, confessed that Rs 508 crore has been so far paid to the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister by Mahadev APP Promoters.
Taking note of this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Durg district said the Congress needs to answer as to what links it has with people in Dubai who were accused in the scam.
"State government and the CM should tell the people of Chhattisgarh what links they have with the people sitting in Dubai who are accused of this scam. After the money was seized, the CM is baffled and has come to the ground. I have heard that local leaders are sending us a message that money will be planted on our leaders and Police will be sent," the PM said.
Responding to it, Baghel cross-questioned the Prime Minister's links with the betting app and why the app has not been banned by the Central government till now.
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"PM Modi is asking, what's the relation with the Dubai people? I want to ask him, what's your relationship with the Dubai people? Why did the arrest not happen even after the release of the lookout circular? It's the duty of the Indian government to make this arrest. Why was the Mahadev app not closed? It's the Indian government's duty to shut down the app. I want to ask PM, what's your deal?... If the deal has not happened, then why are you not closing the app? If you are not closing the app, then the deal has happened," Baghel told reporters here.
The chief minister also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party is scared of him the most that's why it is defaming him through the Enforcement Directorate.
"Because BJP is scared of me the most. That's why they want to defame me by accusing me (through the ED)," he said.
Earlier in the day, BJP questioned whether it is true that Chhattisgarh Congress leaders received money from Das to meet election expenses in the poll-bound state.
Addressing a press briefing at BJP headquarters in the national capital, Union Minister Smriti Irani alleged that the Congress party is contesting the Chhattisgarh elections using hawala operators.
Responding to this, Baghel said that the BJP earlier levelled accusations against Himanta Biswa Sarma and Ajit Pawar when they were in the opposition. "(And) when they joined your party and were washed with 'Modi washing powder', they became neat and clean," he said.
Moreover, while addressing a press briefing, Smriti Irani asked whether Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh received money from Asim Das, who is in ED's custody, on the orders of Shubham Soni, who ED says is one of the high-ranking accused of the Mahadev network.
"Yesterday, shocking facts regarding Bhupesh Baghel emerged before the country. More than Rs 5.30 Crores was seized from a man called Asim Das...Is it true that Congress leaders received money from Asim Das, via Shubham Soni? Is it true that Shubham Soni was ordered by Asim Das to go to Raipur and give money to Baghel as election expenses?" Smriti said.
The Union Minister said that Asim Das has confessed in his statement that he came to Dubai as ordered. "He was ordered that money be given for Congress' elections expenses. Asim Das has confessed that this money is from illegal betting under Mahadev App. Asim Das has confessed that Shubham Soni is a part of the top-level management of Mahadev Online Book," she said.
"Congress party is contesting the Chhattisgarh elections using hawala operators. Chhattisgarh Police and Andhra Pradesh do not come under the administrative purview of the BJP. So, is Bhupesh Baghel questioning his own Government?" she added further.
The ED is investigating the Mahadev Book Online Betting App syndicate in which the promoters of this betting syndicate are based abroad and remotely running thousands of panels across India with the help of their friends and associates who are mainly from Chhattisgarh and have earned thousands of crore of proceeds of crime.
The ED has already arrested four accused persons seized proceeds of crime worth more than Rs 450 crore and filed a prosecution complaint against 14 accused persons.
Earlier, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh responded to the BJP's press briefing saying that when the party comes out openly in defence of ED early in the morning, then their collusion becomes clear.
"When BJP comes out openly in defence of ED early in the morning, then their collusion and political misuse of agencies in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan becomes clear. The Election Commission should take cognizance of this. Trust remains intact, once again Congress government..." the Congress MP said in a post on the social media platform, X.
The elections for the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will be held in two phases, with the first phase of polling for 20 seats scheduled on November 7 and the remaining 70 seats to go for polling on November 17.
The counting of votes will be done on December 3.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
