Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam Money Used To Buy Hotel In Goa: BJP

Raipur: The Bharatiya Janata Party has trained its guns on former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, claiming that an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe has revealed that his family used illegal proceeds of the liquor scam to buy a luxury hotel in Goa.

Congress has dismissed the allegations as baseless and accused the BJP of misusing central investigative agencies to hatch political conspiracies against it rivals.

Addressing a press conference, BJP state spokesperson Nalinish Thokne said that the Westin Hotel in North Goa was bought with the proceeds of the liquor scam in Chhattisgarh. Referring to the sixth chargesheet filed by the ED in the liquor scam case, he said that an amount of Rs 110 crore was sent to Goa to buy the hotel at the behest of Chaitanya Baghel, the son of Bhupesh Baghel.

Thokne said the former Chief Minister responds promptly to common issues, but his silence on such serious allegations has raised many questions. He said the BJP has raised questions on this matter before and is still seeking answers.

The BJP asked if the allegations are baseless, then why Baghel's family and the Congress not been able to defend themselves with conviction.

The BJP further said that the Congress had come to power with the promise of complete prohibition on liquor, but after coming to power, the Congress party had turned Chhattisgarh into an ATM. Thokne claimed that as the ED investigation progressed, the BJP stands vindicated and many new facts related to the alleged liquor scam were coming to light.

Launching a counter-attack, the Congress described the allegations as a conspiracy to tarnish its image.

State president of Congress Media Department Sushil Anand Shukla said that tarnishing the image of Congress leaders has become a primary job of the ED.

Shukla further said the ED has been making claims against Baghel and his family members, but so far it has not made any concrete and indisputable evidence public in support of these allegations. He further said that at first it was estimated the scam was worth Rs 6000 crores, but later the figure came down to Rs 1000 crore, which raises questions on the credibility of the agencies' claims.

According to the Congress, this matter is part of the BJP's political propaganda and an attempt to defame the opposition leaders. Shukla claimed that there is no solid basis for these allegations due to which it will be difficult to prove these charges in court.

The liquor scam has become a big issue in Chhattisgarh, with the BJP calling it the biggest evidence of corruption, while the Congress claims it to be a case of political vendetta and misuse of agencies.

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