Raipur: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Raipur, Chhattisgarh, the Congress launched a scathing attack on the major opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), leveling serious allegations of defrauding the public, including involvement in multi-crore rupee scams, massive embezzlement of funds, breach of trust, and misuse of government machinery.
Sushil Anand Shukla, the Communication Head of the Congress Party's Chhattisgarh unit, challenged the Modi government on Tuesday at the Congress State Headquarters during a press conference, demanding an investigation into the multi-crore scams that occurred during the three consecutive terms of Dr. Raman Singh's rule in the state.
Shukla stated, "Wherever there are elections, central prosecuting agency teams, including Income Tax, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), automatically reach the state and start torturing, threatening, and conducting raids on the houses and premises of opposition leaders without proper evidence."
'BJP rule is tyrannical'
"The tyranny is that under BJP-led Raman rule, a scam of ₹1 lakh crore occurred. A complaint was registered in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) under the disproportionate asset law. Dr. Raman Singh's name and address were highlighted in an international scoop, the PANAMA leaks conducted by ICFJ. Even after that, no probe was initiated. However, on behalf of the public of Chhattisgarh, we demand an impartial probe in the case from the PMO," alleged the Congress leader.
In addition to serious allegations of misconduct and embezzlement of funds, the Congress party released a list of alleged scams that took place during the 15 consecutive years of Raman's rule in the state. This includes the ₹36,000 crore Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam, with alleged involvement of Dr. Raman Singh's family members.
The Congress Communication Department Chief alleged that during the initial stage of the probe, a diary was recovered from the alleged tainted officers, in which they openly mentioned illegal fund transfers to the family members and relatives of the then CM.
Whenever the Congress government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case, the leader of the opposition, Dharamlal Kaushik, approached the High Court and obtained a stay on further investigation.
Congress alleged Rs 6k cr scam
The Congress also alleged a scam of ₹6,000 crore in the name of Chit Fund Companies. The Baghel government wrote a letter to the PMO to request an impartial probe, but no action was taken. A ₹4,400 crore liquor scam occurred during Raman's rule, along with the Indra Priyadarshini bank scam.
A scam of ₹1,677.67 crore occurred in the name of shed construction, with BJP leaders dividing the embezzled funds amongst themselves.
"On behalf of the people of Chhattisgarh, we request PM Modi to instruct the ED, Income Tax, and CBI to investigate these scams," stated the Congress Party.
BJP counter-allegations
Reacting to the Congress's allegations, Chhattisgarh State BJP General Secretary OP Choudhary stated on Tuesday, "Why didn't the state government initiate any action on even a single alleged scam during their four-and-a-half years? They are simply throwing mud on others."
"The Congress government, which set a record of scams in the last four-and-a-half years, has failed to clean their own stains. Every day, a new scam emerges," he added.
