'Bhu-Pay Karo, Mahadev App Chalao...': Anurag Thakur Slams CM Baghel Over Alleged Corruption

New Delhi: Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel over his alleged involvement in the Mahadev App betting case, which is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Speaking to ANI in Bhopal, Thakur accused Baghel of receiving Rs 508 crore from the promoters of the illegal online gambling app, which offers various games and sports betting options to users.

“In Bhupesh Baghel’s government, much corruption has happened. Now Mahadev App corruption. In Chhattisgarh, they say to do corruption and then do the ‘BhuPay’, which is to pay Bhupesh Baghel. Bhupesh Baghel took Rs 508 crore from the Mahadev App,” Thakur alleged. He also questioned why Baghel did not block the app, which was reportedly operated by two Dubai-based men from Chhattisgarh, Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who are absconding and facing a lookout notice by the ED and the Chhattisgarh Police.

“Why didn’t Bhupesh Baghel block this app? Did he write a letter to block the app? Now he does not answer the questions. How long will you run from questions? Now Chhattisgarh is saying, ‘Bhaag Bhupesh Bhaag’,” Thakur said.

He further mocked Baghel by saying that he would soon join the likes of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who are facing corruption charges, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is likely to face a tough challenge from the BJP in the upcoming municipal polls.

“Where Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain are there, and Arvind Kejriwal is about to go, you will also get a place there,” Thakur said. Thakur also slammed the Congress party on the issue of black money. "Congress has always been in favour of black money... How could Bhupesh Baghel be left behind when the master is corrupt?", he said.

Accusing the INDIA alliance leaders of corruption, the Union Minister said, "As I had already said, there's neither a leader nor a policy in the INDIA alliance. There is a flaw in their intentions too. Most of the leaders in this alliance are surrounded by corruption, they have come together just to save themselves..."

He urged the people of Madhya Pradesh to vote for the BJP and its chief ministerial candidate Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who he said had worked for the development and welfare of the state.

The Mahadev App case has become a major political issue in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, where the Congress and the BJP are locked in a bitter contest. The ED has summoned several Bollywood celebrities, including Ranbir Kapoor, Huma Qureshi, Boman Irani and Shraddha Kapoor, for questioning in the case, suspecting that they received cash payments for attending events organised by the app promoters.