Bhupesh Baghel hits back at PM Modi for levelling corruption charges; accuses him of speaking lies

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday reacted sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's allegation of corruption against his government and accused him of speaking lies.

Addressing a rally in state capital Raipur earlier in the day, the Prime Minister alleged that corruption was the Congress' biggest ideology, and the grand old party cannot breathe without it.

Also Read: 'Corruption biggest ideology of Congress, Chhattisgarh has become its ATM,' says PM Modi

Refuting Modi's claims, Baghel tweeted, "Modi ji as you came, waves of lies started flowing. State BJP leaders have been misleading farmers that paddy is procured with the Centre's money. You are the Prime Minister, you know the truth, but you also lied."

It is the biggest lie in the name of farmers that the Centre accepts 80 per cent of the paddy procured in the state, the Chief Minister said.

"If your government's role is so huge in paddy purchase in the states, then why are farmers in your Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi forced to sell paddy at Rs 1,000-1,200 a quintal, Modi ji?" he asked.

Baghel further claimed that the prime minister was given wrong information by the BJP leaders in Chhattisgarh. "Every child in Chhattisgarh knows that we had taken an oath of Gangajal to fulfil the promise of loan waiver for farmers within 10 days (of the government's formation in 2018) and we did it within two hours," he said.

Farmers remember that the BJP never fulfilled the promise of Rs 2,100 per quintal in paddy procurement and a bonus for them, the chief minister said, adding that no one can mislead the farmers of Chhattisgarh.

The Prime Minister during his rally said the Congress had taken Gangajal in hand and vowed to fulfil promises, including liquor ban, within 10 days if the government was formed in the state, but it failed to do so.

He also accused the Bhupesh Bagel government of playing games with paddy procurement and misleading farmers of the state.

More than 80 per cent share of paddy procured in the state belongs to the Centre. In the last nine years, the BJP-led Central government has given more than 1 lakh crore to paddy farmers, he added.

Modi on Friday inaugurated and laid foundation stones of eight projects worth around Rs 7,600 crore in Raipur, where he slammed the Congress for stalling the development of the state. He also accused the government of indulging in corruption.

This was Modi's first visit to the Congress-ruled state, where Assembly elections are due this year-end, after being elected as the prime minister for the second term in 2019.