Congress' Venugopal condemns ED raids at residences of Chhattisgarh CM's advisors
Aug 23, 2023
New Delhi [India], August 23 : Congress General Secretary, KC Venugopal on Wednesday condemned the Enforcement Directorate raids on the staff of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in connection with the alleged liquor scam.
Hitting back at the BJP, which according to him, is completely out of the race in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Venugopal accused the party of "resorting to cheap tactics to intimidate" and "rattle" the Congress.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, he posted, "Strongly condemn the ED raids on the staff members of Chhattisgarh CM Sh. @bhupeshbaghel ji. Completely out of the race in the upcoming elections, the BJP is trying its dirtiest tricks to intimidate and rattle the Congress. However, we have the support of 3 crore Chhattisgarhis and such cheap tactics will not affect us, but they only show the BJP’s desperation".
Baghel on Wednesday took a dig at the central government over ED raids at the residences of his political advisor and Officers on Special Duty (OSD).
"Respected Prime Minister and Mr Amit Shah! Thank you very much for the priceless gift you have given me on my birthday by sending ED to my political advisor and close friends including my OSD," Bhagel posted on X.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi had wished CM Baghel on his birthday.
Taking to 'X', PM Modi wrote, "Birthday greetings to Chhattisgarh CM Shri @bhupeshbaghel Ji. I pray for his long and healthy life".
The ED on Tuesday had carried out searches at the residences of the Chhattisgarh CM's political advisor Vinod Verma and OSD's Manish Banchhor and Ashish Verma in connection with the alleged liquor scam.
Searches were also conducted by the agency at the premises of a businessman in Durg.
ED investigation earlier claimed that in the years -- 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, the illegal sale of liquor was almost 30-40 per cent of the total sale of liquor in the State. This allegedly generated Rs 1,200-1,500-crore illegal profits. The ED investigation is underway.
