Liquor scam allegations made up, ED BJP’s political agent: Baghel

When questioned about the alleged Rs 2,000-crore liquor scam in which the ED claimed senior politicians and bureaucrats were involved and the money was used for electioneering, Baghel said, “ED said there is Rs 500 crore fraud in coal levy case and now they claim Rs 2,000-crore liquor scam. But how much money have you seized?…So, these allegations are completely wrong and condemnable.”

To support his stand, Baghel said the policy related to liquor sales did not change after the BJP regime and their revenue from excise increased over the years and the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India, too, did not find any irregularities in the excise trade. He said, “The policy of selling liquor through liquor corporations was made during the BJP regime in 2017. In 2017-18, Rs 3,900 crore was received from excise. It increased to ₹6,000 crore during our reign. Secondly, in 2017 the things related to liquor business like distiller, officials, transport workers, placement agency have not been changed… the revenue has increased 1.5 times… this proves the ED’s allegation to be untrue,” the Chief Minister added.

Baghel further alleged that ED officials are using arm-twisting tactics to harass people and create evidence by taking their forcible signatures. He said, “I have said this continuously that ED officials are calling people for questioning in their office and beating them up. They are threatening to book them and their relatives in false cases. Even women are being questioned at night which is against the law. They are harassing them and forcibly getting signatures. If they deny they threaten to send them to jail and are taking signatures forcibly.”