‘Coercive, insecure centrism’: Bhupesh Baghel writes to PM Modi over I-T raids

Bhupesh Baghel, in his letter to the prime minister, said the raids were an “affront to the idea of cooperative federalism” and reflects “coercive and insecure centrism”.

Chhattisgarh’s chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over multiple searches by the income tax department in the state.

Baghel said it is an “intriguing coincidence” that the timings of these raids coincide with a decision of the state government. (Photo: Twitter/ bhupeshbaghel)

Bhupesh Baghel said the raids were an “affront to the idea of cooperative federalism” and reflects “coercive and insecure centrism”.

Under the raids, which started on Friday, houses of senior bureaucrats and politicians of the ruling Congress party have been searched by the I-T officials.

On Monday, officials searched the home of deputy secretary in the chief minister’s office, Saumya Chaurasia, in Bhilai under Durg district on alleged charges of tax evasion. Her home was seized by I-T officials on Saturday.

She is an official of the Chhattisgarh Administrative Service (CAS).

“The actions of agencies of the government of India border on political vendetta on one hand and threaten the very core of our democracy on the other, for, as former CM, you should agree that law and order is the state subject and central forces cannot be deployed in the state without the consent of state government,” Baghel said in the letter.

“If each one of us fails to adhere to this cardinal principle of constitutional democracy, we would become undemocratic anarchy,” he said.

Baghel said it is an “intriguing coincidence” that the timings of these raids coincide with the decision of the state government to initiate criminal investigations into the alleged acts of corruption committed under the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

“The central government’s deployment of a central force to assist in motivated income tax raids undermines every word of Dr Ambedkar’s caveat and the scheme laid out in List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution,” Baghel claimed.

“I take this opportunity to reiterate the availability of the police machinery or any other assistance in the quest to find and prosecute the corrupt,” he said.

Reacting over the letter, BJP state unit spokesperson Gauri Shankar Shrivas said the raids have nothing to do with the state’s politics.

“Why is the Congress party rattled over the raids? These are routine raids and were conducted under the BJP rule also,” Shrivas said.