Bhupesh Baghel alleges political pressure, says central agencies used to target Chhattisgarh

Raipur | Correspondent: Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has said that the BJP wanted to topple his government. They tried to buy MLAs. The BJP failed to succeed. After this, when I was appointed senior observer for Jharkhand, contrary to Amit Shah's expectations, the BJP failed to form a government there, and a Congress coalition government was formed. Amit Shah couldn't tolerate it. An IT raid took place in Chhattisgarh on the eighth day after Hemant Soren's swearing-in.

Bhupesh Baghel was speaking on a podcast hosted by renowned lawyer and MP Kapil Sibal. His son, Chaitanya Baghel, also presented his side.

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that approximately 700 raids have been conducted in Chhattisgarh since 2020. He said that after he was appointed the party observer for the Jharkhand elections, raids were conducted. Then, when elections were held in Uttar Pradesh, raids occurred every eighth day. Then, when Himachal Pradesh came, raids continued. Then, when Assam came, raids continued. Then, when elections came to Chhattisgarh, there were a continuous number of raids. After the government fell, I became in-charge of Punjab, and my house was raided again.

Regarding the raids during the Congress party convention in Raipur, Kapil Sibal asked Bhupesh Baghel, "Perhaps they were thinking that if they put pressure on you, you might join the BJP?"

Bhupesh Baghel said, "Their intention must have been the same, because Amit Shah ji had called me once or twice, and Modi ji had also called me. But I didn't understand why they had called me. But I understood their hint later that after I returned from a meeting, more raids would take place."

Regarding PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, he said, "Then they would ask, 'How can I help you?' Their line of questioning was, 'What cases are pending against you? Which of your officials are your trusted ones?' I told them, 'Sir, I'm pleasantly surprised that I belong to the opposition, and my opposition ethos dictates that I criticize you, and I do.' Yet, you're calling me and offering your cooperation. This is a pleasant surprise for me. I couldn't have imagined you'd want to cooperate like this. I'd say this and leave, and on the eighth day, there would be another raid."

Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that he once called the Prime Minister and said, 'Sir, you promised to help. You ordered a raid here.' The Prime Minister's response was, 'I'll speak to the officials, I'll talk to them.'

Bhupesh Baghel said, "I couldn't understand whether they were calling me to join the BJP...although they didn't say anything. But later I understood that I hadn't told them anything. I hadn't made any commitments, and because of this, raids were conducted every fourth or fifth day. No matter how many times I went..."