New Delhi, Nov 4: The Congress alleged on Saturday that the imminent defeat of the BJP in the Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan Assembly polls has forced it to use its last weapon, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), to reverse its fortunes and said the claims made by the federal agency against Bhupesh Baghel are part of a “conspiracy” hatched by the saffron party to tarnish his image.
It also alleged that the ED and its “overlords” circled the aides of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Baghel like “rabid dogs” in order to reach him and asserted that the people of the state would give a befitting reply to such tactics in the upcoming Assembly poll.
The Congress said it will raise the issue with the Election Commission (EC) that the ED raids are being conducted during the poll process, when the Model Code of Conduct is in force, and claimed that it is a clear “violation” of the rules as it disturbs the level-playing field.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, along with Abhishek Singhvi, said the party is exploring all legal options in this regard.
Ramesh claimed that with the defeat of the BJP in the Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh Assembly polls certain, the saffron party is misusing central agencies, such as the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“The people of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have faith in the Congress. The BJP is indulging in vendetta politics,” the Congress leader said.
Another Congress leader, K C Venugopal, said there is a clear-cut conspiracy to tarnish Baghel’s image, adding that people will give a befitting reply to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming polls.
Venugopal also claimed that whenever the BJP faces electoral defeats and sees its ground slipping from under its feet, it has only one weapon to use and that is the ED.
“This is a clear-cut conspiracy hatched by the prime minister to tarnish the image of Bhupesh Baghel and the Chhattisgarh government for winning this election,” Venugopal alleged, claiming that all this is being done as the Chhattisgarh election is going to be one-sided in favour of the Congress and Baghel comes from an Other Backward Classes (OBC) background. (PTI)
