The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting raids at the Raipur residence of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and newly-appointed in-charge of Punjab Congress Bhupesh Baghel. He himself gave this information on his social media account X (formerly Twitter).
Baghel said in his post that if through this action someone is trying to weaken the Congress in Punjab, then it is a misunderstanding. His comment is creating a stir in Punjab politics. This raid has taken place at a time when a meeting of senior leaders of Punjab Congress with Rahul Gandhi is scheduled in Delhi on March 13, in which Baghel will also participate. Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Vading and other leaders allege that this action is part of the political conspiracy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said that the BJP is afraid that Baghel might form a Congress government in Punjab. In such a situation, they are trying to scare, we are not going to be afraid.
New in-charge of Punjab Congress after Delhi elections
Assembly elections are to be held in Punjab in 2027. Earlier, in January 2024, senior Delhi Congress leader Devendra Yadav was appointed in-charge of Punjab Congress. Under his leadership, Congress won 7 out of 13 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Apart from this, by-elections, civic elections and panchayat elections were also fought under his leadership.
However, the Congress performed poorly in the Delhi Assembly elections and Yadav lost the election, after which Bhupesh Baghel was made the new in-charge of Punjab. Baghel made his first visit to Punjab on 24 February. During this, he paid obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar and held a meeting with Congress leaders in Chandigarh on 25 February.
We stand with our leader
Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Vading has said in a video posted on his social media account – Enforcement Directorate raid on former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister @bhupeshbaghel is not the first raid. Earlier also there have been raids by CBI and ED. The way the BJP government is using agencies is not appropriate. The government is trying to suppress the voice of the opposition and pressure is being put on the leaders of opposition parties.
The BJP wants our leaders to be kept busy here and there. Because Baghel has just become the in-charge of Punjab Congress. They are afraid that he might go to Punjab and form the Congress government. Everyone knows the motive behind this. But I don’t think that BJP will gain anything from these actions.
Bhupesh Baghel is a leader who fought his battle from the grassroots level and formed the government in the state. The whole country believes that Bhupesh Baghel’s government in Chhattisgarh gave birth to new thinking. The common people, every section was happy under his rule.
The ways in which BJP is forming its government in the states are in front of everyone. But Baghel ji is our respected leader, and we stand with him. The more you scare us, the stronger we will become. Our leader Rahul Gandhi says – “Don’t be afraid.” Those who were going to be afraid, ran away. NSUI Punjab President Isharpreet Singh Sidhu says that the elections are still two years away, but the central government is already trying to weaken the Congress by misusing agencies.
Congress was reduced from 58 to 18
The 2022 assembly election performance of Punjab Congress was disappointing. The party was reduced to just 18 seats. Chief Ministerial candidate Charanjit Singh Channi lost from Bhadaur by 37,000 votes, while he also faced defeat from Chamkaur Sahib. Many other Congress ministers also lost the election. In this election, the Aam Aadmi Party formed the government by winning 92 seats.
However, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress made a comeback and won 7 out of 13 seats. Charanjit Singh Channi won by more than one lakh votes. At the same time, the Aam Aadmi Party managed to win only 3 seats, while 5 of its ministers lost the election.
