‘Don’t know this person, never met him’: Baghel reacts to Mahadev app ‘owner’ video

In his second statement issued late on Sunday, Baghel said, “I wonder on what basis are all the responsible TV channels running the statement of an unknown person? Just because my name is in it? Is this not a case of defamation? It is no mystery why and how this video has come and it is also not difficult to understand that such a statement has been issued at the time of elections only to benefit the BJP”.

Baghel, in his earlier statement earlier on Sunday, had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of wanting to “fight elections by using central agencies like ED, IT, and that “an ugly attempt is made to spoil my image” just before Chhattisgarh Assembly elections.

In the latest statement on the issue, Baghel again said, “Everyone also understands that this is being done by weaponising the ED. In fact, the BJP is now contesting elections with the help of ED and is using ED to defame me”.

“First of all, I do not know this person nor have I ever met him in the way he is claiming. I can’t say if he was a part of any gathering or function. Secondly, this person is claiming that he is the owner of ‘Mahadev App’. Surprisingly, even the ED, the agency which has been investigating this case for months, was not aware of this and till two days ago, the ED was calling him a manager,” he said.

“The people of Chhattisgarh understand everything. They will give a befitting reply to BJP and its ally ED in the elections.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued blocking orders against the Mahadev online betting platform along with 21 other illegal betting apps and websites.

After the app, which has been at the centre of a major political row in the poll-bound state of Chhattisgarh, the Chhattisgarh chief minister had said the Centre has “finally woken up from its sleep” and banned the Mahadev app.

“I have been asking this for months as to why this app was not being banned. I had even said that maybe the greed of getting 28% GST has made the government not ban the app or the BJP and app operators have made a deal,” he said.