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Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday accused the BJP of attempting to stifle opposition voices in the state. Baghel highlighted the case of senior Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma, who was reportedly targeted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) following his vocal criticism of corruption.
Speaking to ANI, Baghel said, "BJP wants to silence the voice of the opposition. Kawasi Lakhma (former Chhattisgarh minister) is a senior leader, he is a six-time MLA. He is the voice of Bastar. He has been repeatedly raising his voice against corruption and raised issues in Vidhan Sabha...He raised a question in Vidhan Sabha and ED reached his home eight days later...There are municipal elections and Panchayati Raj elections in Chhattisgarh. That's why he has been sent to jail." "The same thing happened with Devendra Yadav (Bhilai Nagar MLA in Chhattisgarh). The efforts to silence the choice of opposition in the democracy show the dictatorship," the Congress leader added. Earlier on January 16, a day after ED arrested former Chhattisgarh Excise Minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma in an alleged liquor scam, Bhupesh Baghel stated that the probe agency could not even recover even a penny from the latter's house. He also claimed that Lakhma exposed corruption in a project which was approved without the sanction of the particular department. Lakhma is accused of allegedly receiving a substantial amount in cash on a monthly basis out of proceeds of crime generated from the alleged liquor scam. He is the sixth person arrested in this case. As per the agency, Lakhma was allegedy the main recipient of proceeds of crime in cash during his regime as excise minister. ED investigation into the liquor scam, which ran between 2019 to 2022, revealed that proceeds of crime were generated as illegal commission which was generated in multiple ways. The agency has claimed that bribe was collected from the distillers per 'case' of liquor procured from them by the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), a state body for the purchase and sale of liquor. (ANI)
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