Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday warned of a defamation suit against his predecessor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Raman Singh for his alleged remarks calling the CM an "ATM" of the Congress and its interim president Sonia Gandhi.
He sought an apology from Singh for his objectionable remarks.
“Raman Singh said (Baghel) is an 'ATM of Sonia Gandhi' and also claimed that an 'illegal levy' of Rs 25 per tonne is being collected for coal transportation. His remarks are highly objectionable. He should prove his allegations or apologize publicly.
Otherwise, appropriate legal action will be taken against him and I will file a defamation suit against him,” Baghel told reporters here.
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In a veiled attack on Singh, Baghel also tweeted in Hindi, “By the way, NAN's (Nagarik Apurti Nigam) diary has a mention of Nagpur to Lucknow. People of the state (Chhattisgarh) want to know from which Swipe Machine that (money) was transferred.”
Baghel was referring to an alleged scam in Nagarik Apurti Nigam, a state-run corporation, in 2015 when the BJP was in power and Singh held the post of chief minister.
Targeting the ruling Congress over Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches at multiple locations in the state, Singh on Tuesday said he never expected that Chhattisgarh will witness such a huge action by the anti-money laundering agency.
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The BJP leader then went on to level the 'ATM' charge against Baghel and alleged money is being collected illegally for the transportation of coal in the Congress-ruled state.
"Soon the Congress government's corruption will get exposed,” the former chief minister had said.
(Inputs from PTI)
