Raipur, Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday criticized BJP MP Santosh Pandey for his statement in Lok Sabha on the alleged Mahadev app scam and questioned why the betting platform had not been banned by the BJP-led central and state governments.
The senior Congress leader said he would write a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker against Pandey, who made baseless allegations in Parliament.
Earlier in the day, Pandey, representing Rajnandgaon parliamentary seat in Chhattisgarh, in a veiled attack on Baghel accused him of running a betting operation worth over Rs 6,000 crore on behalf of Lord Mahadev during his tenure as Minister Major.
Responding, Baghel stated that when he was leading the state government (2018-2023), more than 70 FIRs were registered, hundreds of people were arrested and assets like money, mobile phones and laptops worth crores of rupees were seized in connection with Mahadev. online betting app.
"Rajnandgaon MP Pandey has leveled serious allegations against me in Parliament saying that the former CM was placing bets worth Rs 6,000 crore through the Mahadev app. The allegation is baseless," he said.
The government has changed, but the Mahadev app is still operational despite the BJP being in power in the state and the centre. Will they now call it 'Vishnu Deo Sai app'? he questioned while pointing at Chief Minister Sai.
Although the BJP is in power at the Center and in the state, the app has not yet been banned and is still operational, Baghel added.
"We (the previous Congress government) had issued a vigilance circular (against the app promoters). They (the app promoters) are in a foreign country and (the BJP-led Centre) cannot nab them and repatriate them," he said.
Baghel also mentioned his plans to seek legal advice and take further action accordingly.
"I will write a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker regarding the baseless allegations against a person who is not a member of the House," he added.
Notably, the Economic Crimes Department/Anti-Corruption Bureau of Chhattisgarh named Baghel, along with app promoters Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni, Anil Kumar Agrawal and 14 others as accused in the betting app scandal.
The newly elected BJP government filed the case in March based on a report by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has been investigating the money laundering aspect of the case for over a year.
The ED has filed three chargesheets in the Mahadev app-related money laundering case in the Raipur court, including against main promoters Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal. The ED carried out multiple raids in connection with the case in Chhattisgarh.
The ED investigation revealed the involvement of several senior politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh, where Chandrakar and Uppal hail from.
According to the ED, online betting and gaming app Mahadev is a syndicate that organizes online platforms for illegal betting websites, enrolls new users, creates user IDs and launders money through a complex network of benami bank accounts. .
The ED has arrested 11 people so far. It was claimed that the two main promoters of the app had been arrested in Dubai based on the Interpol red notice at the request of ED.
Bhupesh Baghel had earlier termed the ED's action in the Mahadev betting app case as a "political conspiracy" and accused the federal agency of acting at the behest of its "political masters".
The senior Congress leader said he would write a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker against Pandey, who made baseless allegations in Parliament.
Earlier in the day, Pandey, representing Rajnandgaon parliamentary seat in Chhattisgarh, in a veiled attack on Baghel accused him of running a betting operation worth over Rs 6,000 crore on behalf of Lord Mahadev during his tenure as Minister Major.
Responding, Baghel stated that when he was leading the state government (2018-2023), more than 70 FIRs were registered, hundreds of people were arrested and assets like money, mobile phones and laptops worth crores of rupees were seized in connection with Mahadev. online betting app.
"Rajnandgaon MP Pandey has leveled serious allegations against me in Parliament saying that the former CM was placing bets worth Rs 6,000 crore through the Mahadev app. The allegation is baseless," he said.
The government has changed, but the Mahadev app is still operational despite the BJP being in power in the state and the centre. Will they now call it 'Vishnu Deo Sai app'? he questioned while pointing at Chief Minister Sai.
Although the BJP is in power at the Center and in the state, the app has not yet been banned and is still operational, Baghel added.
"We (the previous Congress government) had issued a vigilance circular (against the app promoters). They (the app promoters) are in a foreign country and (the BJP-led Centre) cannot nab them and repatriate them," he said.
Baghel also mentioned his plans to seek legal advice and take further action accordingly.
"I will write a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker regarding the baseless allegations against a person who is not a member of the House," he added.
Notably, the Economic Crimes Department/Anti-Corruption Bureau of Chhattisgarh named Baghel, along with app promoters Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni, Anil Kumar Agrawal and 14 others as accused in the betting app scandal.
The newly elected BJP government filed the case in March based on a report by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has been investigating the money laundering aspect of the case for over a year.
The ED has filed three chargesheets in the Mahadev app-related money laundering case in the Raipur court, including against main promoters Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal. The ED carried out multiple raids in connection with the case in Chhattisgarh.
The ED investigation revealed the involvement of several senior politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh, where Chandrakar and Uppal hail from.
According to the ED, online betting and gaming app Mahadev is a syndicate that organizes online platforms for illegal betting websites, enrolls new users, creates user IDs and launders money through a complex network of benami bank accounts. .
The ED has arrested 11 people so far. It was claimed that the two main promoters of the app had been arrested in Dubai based on the Interpol red notice at the request of ED.
Bhupesh Baghel had earlier termed the ED's action in the Mahadev betting app case as a "political conspiracy" and accused the federal agency of acting at the behest of its "political masters".
