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A lowdown on Chhattisgarh Congress leaders under Enforcement Directorate scanner
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the premises of some Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh just before the party’s plenary session earlier last month, evoking a strong response from the party
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has called two Congress leaders – Girish Dewangan and Devendra Yadav– in the last two days for questioning at the agency’s office in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur over a money laundering case linked to the alleged coal levy scam in the state.
The ED had raided the premises of some Congress leaders and office bearers in Chhattisgarh in the same case just before the party’s plenary session earlier last month, evoking a strong response from the party.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel termed the raids as politically motivated and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was afraid of the Congress and was misusing central agencies to crush the voices of political opponents.
ED has alleged that a cartel of bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians, and middlemen had imposed illegal levies of ₹25 per tonne on coal transported in the state.
In the charge sheet submitted by the ED in the court, the agency claimed that the cartel was allegedly running a “parallel system of extorting illegal levy” and generating about ₹2-3 crore daily.
On October 11, the agency arrested three people including Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Sameer Vishnoi and businessman Sunil Agrawal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the case. Businessman and alleged mastermind Suryakant Tiwari is among others arrested in the case.
On December 2, the ED arrested Baghel’s deputy secretary Saumya Chaurasia. It alleged that Chaurasia’s WhatsApp chats showed she was sharing the government’s confidential information with Tiwari.
Below are the Congress leaders who are under the scanner of the ED. They are either questioned or their premises are raided by the ED. The ED till now has not given any statement about their role in the alleged scam.
Girish Dewangan
A resident of Kharora town in Raipur district, Girish Dewangan is said to be a close aide of Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. Baghel and Dewangan studied together in Science College Raipur. He is currently the chairman of the Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation (CMDC) with Cabinet rank. He was Congress general secretary (organisation) during Baghel’s tenure as state president before the 2018 assembly polls.
Devendra Yadav
An MLA from Bhilai, Devendra Yadav, now in his early 30s, was the youngest mayor of Bhilai Municipal Corporation in Chhattisgarh. He defeated senior BJP leader and Chhattisgarh assembly speaker Prem Prakash Pandey in the last assembly elections. He formerly served as the state president of the Congress’ student wing, the National Student Union of India (NSUI). He recently got appreciation from the party’s national leadership for managing the recently completed Bharat Jodo Yatra, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, with his team of volunteers.
RP Singh
A senior Congress spokesperson in Chhattisgarh, RP Singh represents the party in TV debates and is known for his blunt responses to his political opponents. He is considered among the few party men who have direct access to the chief minister’s house.
Vinod Tiwari
A youth congress leader, Vinod Tiwari joined the Ajit Jogi’s Janta Congress, but later re-joined the Baghel-led Congress just before the 2018 assembly elections.
Sunny Agrawal
Holds cabinet minister rank. Chairman of the Chhattisgarh State Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. He was close to P L Puniya when he was in-charge of Chhattisgarh Congress, which helped him to grab the chairmanship of an important board. He is also close to Girish Dewangan and Ramgopal Agrawal (Congress Party Treasurer).
Ramgopal Agrawal
The Congress party treasurer and chairman of the Civil Supplies Corporation, Ramgopal Agrawal comes from Dhamtari and is said to be enjoying Baghel’s confidence.
Chandradev Prasad Rai
Chandradev Prasad Rai was a leader of the ‘Shikhakarmi Andolan’ before the 2018 assembly polls. He got a Congress ticket first to contest from Bilaigarh constituency of Baloda Bazar district and became an MLA. The ED raided his premises and also called him for questioning.
