After ED raids, Congress stages protest outside central agency’s office in Raipur

PTI, Feb 21, 2023, 4:28 PM IST

A day after the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids on premises linked to some Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh, a large number of party leaders and workers staged a protest in front of the central agency’s office in Raipur and accused it of taking action at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The protesters, led by Congress MLA Dhanendra Sahu, former Rajya Sabha member Chhaya Verma and Raipur district party unit (urban) president Girish Dubey, gathered outside the ED office building in Pachpedi Naka area on Tuesday and staged a sit-in protest. They raised slogans against the BJP-led Centre and the ED and accused the government of misusing central agencies against political opponents.

When the protesters tried to get inside the ED’s office, police stopped them. This resulted in a minor scuffle between the protesters and security personnel. The ED on Monday conducted raids at more than a dozen locations in Chhattisgarh including at premises linked to state Congress leaders as part of an ongoing probe into the alleged coal levy scam, officials said. The action comes ahead of the Congress’ three-day plenary session to be held in Raipur from February 24. Hitting out at the BJP, Chhaya Verma claimed the saffron party is scared of the Congress and therefore it has resorted to such tactics of misusing central agencies. “We will not be afraid of such things. We will fight against it and emerge stronger,” she added. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday called the raids at the premises of Congress leaders a “politically motivated” move. He had claimed the BJP was scared of the Congress and misusing central agencies to crush the voices of political opponents. Baghel had also claimed the BJP’s intention was to impact the Congress’s upcoming plenary session in Raipur where a roadmap for the 2024 general elections will be discussed.

The ED on Monday conducted searches at more than a dozen locations related to two Congress MLAs Devendra Yadav in Bhilai (Durg district) and Chandradev Prasad Rai in Sarangarh-Bilaigarh district, Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee treasurer Ramgopal Agrawal, chairman of Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation Girish Dewangan, chairman of Chhattisgarh State Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board Sushil Sunny Agrawal and party’s state spokesperson RP Singh in Raipur, according to officials.

The raids also covered premises of some other ruling party leaders, including Vinod Tiwari in Raipur. The ED’s investigation relates to “a massive scam in which an illegal levy of Rs 25 was being extorted for every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by a cartel involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen”, the agency has alleged. Nine persons including an IAS officer and a state administrative service officer have been arrested by it till now in the case.