The Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee has expressed concern over the actions taken by the Enforcement Directorate on the occasion of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's birthday.
Sushil Anand Shukla, President of the State Congress Communications Department, addressed the media, attributing the Enforcement Directorate's actions to the political desperation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He emphasised that the Chief Minister's birthday is being joyfully celebrated across the state, and the events are meant to foster a positive atmosphere. Shukla expressed fears that the ED raids aim to tarnish the image of the Chief Minister and the Congress government.
Addressing the targeting of CM's Advisor Vinod Verma, Shukla highlighted Verma's role in overseeing booth committee activities and political training within the Congress. He also mentioned the roles of Ashish Verma and Manish Banchore as OSDs to the Chief Minister, responsible for political activities in the Chief Minister's constituency of Patan. Shukla added that Vijay Bhatia is a family friend of the Chief Minister and clarified that the BJP has already announced its candidate for the Patan constituency.
Shukla also noted that the Congress has faced ED raids during times of heightened political activities, such as the 85th Congress session, elections in UP, Assam, Himachal, and Karnataka, as well as during the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He suggested that the timing of such raids raises questions about potential conspiracies or coincidences aimed at fulfilling BJP's political objectives.
Shukla criticised the ED's approach, claiming that it attaches properties after two months, followed by arrests in subsequent months, and files charge sheets after one month. He alleged that the ED's actions are designed to generate news and headlines to aid the BJP, which he described as being "issueless."
Asserting that the citizens of the state recognise these efforts as conspiracies aimed at harassing the popular Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Shukla confidently stated that the public's response will be evident in the 2023 elections, predicting that the BJP will fail to reach double-digit figures.
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