Taking a jibe at Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel over the Mahadev betting scam, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Mahadev, also known as Lord Shiva, has decided that the Congress government should be voted out of power in the ensuing Assembly elections. Singh’s lethal attack came during his address at an election rally in Surguja, Chhattisgarh.
The Defence Minister noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a new Chhattisgarh couldn’t be fulfilled. “Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jawaharlal Nehru, and now PM Modi all had the dream of making a new Chhattisgarh… After PM Modi came within two years, Raman Singh’s government was gone. That’s why PM Modi’s dream of making a new Chhattisgarh couldn’t be fulfilled,” he said in his provocative address in Surguja.
“Congress formed the new government, and Bhupesh Baghel became the CM. After he became the CM, you all know what happened… Now Mahadev has come. It feels like Mahadev has decided that this corrupt government should go and the BJP should come,” he furthered.
It is important to note that it was then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who oversaw the formation of Chhattisgarh in 2000.
Trouble for Baghel over Mahadev betting scam
Earlier this month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged that an email statement from the suspect in the Mahdev betting scam revealed that the promoters of the app had paid bribes worth Rs 508 crore to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
The ED also noted that the cash worth Rs 5.39 crore seized by them on Thursday from a hotel in Raipur was delivered for the Congress party’s election expenditure.
On November 7, polling was held on 20 seats in Chhattisgarh for the first phase of assembly elections.
Meanwhile, Congress described the allegations against Baghel as a “malicious” attempt to tarnish the CM’s image.
The Mahadev Book App, which is at the centre of the scam, operates through several websites that advertise contact numbers on portals to entice people into betting. The app became problematic since it provides platforms for illegal betting on live games such as poker, card games, cricket, badminton, tennis and football in India which is an illegal operation.
The app has recently been banned by the Central government.