ED functioning like election department of BJP, says Bhupesh Baghel on National Herald case

NEW DELHI: Former Chhattisgarh chief minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel said on Monday in Bhubaneswar that the Enforcement Directorate is acting as BJP's "Election Department" in the National Herald case, where the ED recently filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others on money laundering charges.
"Whenever the Congress raises major issues in the interest of the country and its people - such as caste-based census and reservation according to population - the BJP government starts attacking the Congress with false and unrealistic allegations to defame the party," Baghel stated during a press conference.
"A blatant example of this is the National Herald case. A petition was filed in this matter before the Election Commission in 2012, and the Commission rejected it. Then, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy moved the Enforcement Directorate, which also closed the case in 2015," Baghel said.
Baghel alleged that after the removal of the then-ED chief, the agency registered a fresh FIR and subjected Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to extended questioning.
"The ED, which is functioning as the election department of the BJP, filed the chargesheet on the last day of the court's given timeline. We came to know about the chargesheet against Sonia and Rahul through the media. No notice was served to either of them or to any director of the company," he added.
Addressing BJP's claims about National Herald owning property worth Rs 5,000 crore, Baghel countered that the Income Tax Department valued it at around Rs 400 crore.
"The Congress governments, from Nehru to Manmohan Singh, established numerous institutions and assets for the benefit of the people of this country. But now, the BJP government is selling these one after another to a single person, with the entire government machinery working towards that end," Baghel claimed.
Baghel further stated that BJP has failed to achieve their goal of "Congress-mukt Bharat" despite allegedly misusing central agencies like the ED, CBI, Income Tax Department, and the Election Commission.
Regarding the Mahanadi water dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh, he said, "Now that there is a triple-engine BJP government in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and at the Centre, they should resolve the matter mutually."