Rajnandgaon (BTI)- The suppression of opposition voices in democracy has now become a recurring pattern. The Modi-led central government and the BJP government in Chhattisgarh are allegedly using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as a tool to exert pressure on opposition leaders. Following a question raised during the assembly session, the ED raided the residence of former Chief Minister and AICC General Secretary Bhupesh Baghel, confiscating his mobile phone and placing him under house arrest, treating him like a criminal.
In response, the City and District Congress, along with Rural Congress members, staged a massive protest on March 11 at Jaystambh Chowk, burning effigies of the BJP and ED to express their dissent.
City District Congress Committee General Secretary Amit Chandraanshi accused the ED of functioning as an auxiliary wing of the BJP. He stated that the forceful confiscation of Bhupesh Baghel’s mobile phone and his alleged mistreatment were politically motivated. Following directives from Pradesh Congress President Deepak Baij, the protest was led by City District Congress President Kulbir Singh Chhabra and District Rural Congress President Bhagwat Sahu, condemning the BJP’s alleged misuse of central agencies.
District Rural Congress President Bhagwat Sahu remarked that the BJP government was deliberately harassing former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, a farmer’s leader, through ED raids. The agency interrogated him for nearly 11 hours before leaving empty-handed. Earlier, similar raids were conducted at the Congress Bhavan. He asserted that the ED is acting under BJP’s influence with malicious intent. However, Congress remains undeterred and is prepared to fight for justice. Sahu further claimed that the BJP fears Bhupesh Baghel’s impactful tenure, prompting such tactics to suppress his influence.
Senior councilor Hafeez Khan targeted the BJP government, criticizing the authoritarian approach taken against Bhupesh Baghel. He questioned why the ED has not investigated major scams such as the ₹44 crore excise scam, the ₹36,000 crore NAN scam, and multiple chit-fund frauds. He accused the BJP of selectively targeting Congress leaders while ignoring corruption within its own ranks.
Prominent Congress leaders present at the protest included senior party members Shrikishan Khandelwal, Padam Kothari, Kamaljeet Singh Pintu, Pankaj Bandhav, Mehul Maru, Jhammann Devangan, Dinesh Sharma, Hafeez Khan, Abhimanyu Mishra, Roshni Sinha, Women’s Congress President Maya Sharma, North Block President Asif Ali, Ratan Yadav, District Farmers Congress President Madan Sahu, Mamraj Agrawal, Rajju Jaan, Pratima Banjare, Surendra Devangan, Mahesh Sahu, Yuvraj Bharti, Vicky Patel, Piku Khan, Durgesh Dwivedi, Tuldas Sahu, Sandeep Jaiswal, Khilesh Banjare, Sagar Tamrakar, Seetaram Shriwas, Shailesh Ramteke, Ibrahim, Shaurya Vaishnav, Surendra Gajbhiye, Nilesh Thaware, Tausif Gori, Sandeep Soni, and many others.
The protest highlighted Congress’s firm stand against what it claims to be the BJP’s orchestrated political vendetta, vowing to continue their fight for justice and democratic integrity.
