Chhattisgarh assembly: Congress MLAs suspended after din over ED raids on Baghel's home

Raipur: Several Congress MLAs were suspended from the Chhattisgarh assembly on Monday after they trooped into its well and shouted slogans against the ruling BJP over the ED's raids on the premises of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel.

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday raided the premises of Baghel as part of a money laundering investigation against his son in the alleged liquor scam case, official sources said.

The premises of Bhupesh Baghel's son-- Chaitanya Baghel-- in Bhillai (Durg district), an alleged close associate of Chaitanya Baghel, Laxmi Narayan Bansal alias Pappu Bansal, and some others were also being searched under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

Chaitanya Baghel shares the Bhillai accommodation with his father and hence the premises was being covered. He (Chaitanya Baghel) is suspected to the "recipient" of the proceeds of crime of the liquor scam, they said.

About 14-15 premises are being raided in the state, they said.

As the House assembled for the day's business, Congress legislators disrupted the Question Hour and raised the issue of the ED's raid.

They claimed that those questioning the alleged corruption in the government were being targeted using the central agency.

Congress members, including former minister Umesh Patel, started raising slogans against the ruling BJP and claimed the democracy was being "murdered".

Speaker Raman Singh asked members of the main opposition party to raise their issues in the Zero Hour, citing the importance of Question Hour, but the Congress legislators continued shouting slogans.

The Congress MLAs trooped into the well of the House while shouting slogans, and were automatically suspended, as per the assembly rules.

Bhupesh Baghel was not present in the House.

The speaker announced the suspension of various Congress members and asked them to go outside the House.

However, Congress members remained in the well and continued to raise slogans against the ruling party. They later left the House.

The Enforcement Directorate earlier said the Chhattisgarh liquor "scam" resulted in "massive loss" to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of a liquor syndicate with more than Rs 2,100 crore of proceeds of crime.

The ED had arrested former minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma in this case in January apart from Anwar Dhebar, the elder brother of Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi and some others as part of this investigation.

The alleged liquor scam in the central Indian state, as per the ED, was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was ruled by a Congress government led by CM Bhupesh Baghel.

Assets of about Rs 205 crore of various accused have been attached by the agency as part of this investigation till now.