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UP CM Yogi targets Congress over Mahadev betting app scam in poll-bound Chhattisgarh
The Enforcement Directorate on Nov 3 alleged promoters of the operation had paid bribes worth ₹508 crore to Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday launched his election campaign of five poll-bound states from Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh where he raised a slogan in Chhattisgarhi, ‘ab na sahibo, badal ke rahibo (won’t tolerate anymore and will change government)’ as he went hard at the Bhupesh Baghel government, slamming it over the issue of religious conversion while flagging the politically hot issue of ‘Mahadev’ betting app scam.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had on Friday alleged that an email statement from a suspect in the alleged scam had revealed that promoters of the operation had paid bribes worth ₹508 crore to Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel. It also said that cash worth ₹5.39 crore seized by them on Thursday from a hotel in Raipur was being delivered for the Congress party’s election expenditure.
Yogi wasted little time in slamming the Congress on the issue on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi upped the ante on the same issue that the Congress claimed was politically motivated.
“Congress is a problem in itself and is responsible for various ills plaguing the country like terrorism, lawlessness and corruption. Now, in the name of Mahadev app, a new scam has surfaced. Imagine, money of 10 lakh people being usurped. This means that now Congress’s corruption is coming unstuck, and the party is now fully exposed,” Yogi said even as the BJP too stepped up the political offensive on the subject.
Addressing four public meetings in Bhanupratappur, Dongargaon, Pandariya and Kawardha in key assembly segments of Kanker, Rajnandgaon and Kabirdham, Yogi recited a couplet from the Ramcharitmanas that meant how Lord Ram had taken a pledge to free the land from devil.
Read Here: Baghel got ₹508 cr from Mahadev betting app promoters, says ED; CM dismisses charge
Bhanupratappur is tribal area while Rajnandgaon is the traditional assembly seat of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh. “It was on this land that Lord Ram took a pledge to rid the place of devils. Now, it’s time that Chhattisgarh people too, take a similar pledge to bury the corruption that Congress signifies,” he said.
Recalling how Chhattisgarh was the land of Lord Ram’s mother Kaushalya, the U.P. chief minister quickly drew a religious parallel between Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh even as he urged people there to help usher in “Ram Rajya”.
“The inauguration of Ram temple and consecration of Ram Lalla in presence of the PM on January 22, 2024 would in essence be the announcement for the start of Ram Rajya. This means all benefits of government schemes would flow to all without fear or favour. The benefits would cover those too who had been devoid of them since independence. And so, I urge Chhattisgarhis to ensure that Lord Ram’s maternal place too joins in the celebrations,” he said to cheers.
“The Congress government usurps benefits of poor, commits atrocities on farmers and exploits them and insults Ram bhakts too. That’s why this government has no right to remain in office even for an instant,” he said.
Continuing to build on the larger corruption theme, he said, “Earlier the Congress government only faced mining issues and because of which the Chhattisgarh government had to stand in the dock. Now, while one of their alliance partners was caught in fodder scam in Bihar, in Chhattisgarh this party has indulged in cow dung scam having swindled ₹1300 crore. They purchased cow dung from a place where there were no cows! That is why I have come here to tell you that the government here is cheating the poor, the tribals, labourers, farmers, youth, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe and backwards and everyone else,” he said.
Yogi also accused the Congress government of targeting ‘Ram bhakts’ on Ram Navami even as he raised the issue of religious conversions in the state.
“This Congress government as part of its ‘declared agenda’ engages in lathi charge on ‘Ram bhakts’ on the Ram Navami day and doesn’t allow you to celebrate your festivals in a peaceful manner. In U.P., we ensured that those attempting love jihad, the attempt to lure Hindu girls through deceit, are taught a befitting lesson by bringing them to book and putting them through the grind. But, I am surprised how the government here has encouraged religious conversions. The government here incites people against the system and denies them benefits that should be theirs,” he said.
“Cheating the innocent and pure people of the land here whose ancestors had helped Lord Ram in eliminating evil forces is like cheating the Lord itself,” he added. Yogi then went on to list various benefits that were being enjoyed by people in BJP-ruled states and asked, “aapko mila kya (did you get it?)”. “Once the BJP replaces the Congress here, you too will enjoy all benefits,” he said.
