Kedar Kashyap criticises Baghel, Congress for ‘Double Standards’

 

 

 

 

Chhattisgarh Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap has accused former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel of making false claims against the BJP government, stating that Congress and Baghel often say one thing but do the opposite. “Their double standards are clear to everyone,” Kashyap said. “People realize they are both dishonest and shameless.” Addressing a press conference Kashyap claimed that Baghel’s government, during its five-year term, turned Chhattisgarh into a hub for corruption. “Whether it was the liquor scam, coal scam, rice scam, Gothan scam, or the PSC scam, they misused state money and stole from the state.

 

That’s why many of their people are now facing jail,” he said. Kashyap said that Congress and Bhupesh Baghel had questioned coal allocation and tree cutting. He pointed out that when the Congress high command put pressure on them, Baghel “gave in,” which he had written in letters. “Bhupesh Baghel himself once said there would be no more coal deals, and people in Chhattisgarh should stop using ACs and turn off electricity,” Kashyap recalled. “Have you turned off the AC and electricity at the Rajiv Bhavan as per your own words? You should answer that.” The minister also elaborated on how coal was given out for personal gain when Bhupesh Baghel was Chief Minister. He alleged of giving a coal block in the state to Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan.

 

He also highlighted that even during the UPA government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leaders had “made it easier” to get coal blocks. Quoting documents Kashyap claimed that in 2010, the UPA government said Hasdeo Arandh was a “no zone area.” He claimed that the then Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, later declared the entire area a “core area,”. “Today, these same people talk big about forests,” Kashyap criticized. “This is the real face of Congress leaders who claim to care about forests.” He added that on June 23, 2011, the Congress government at the Centre suggested opening the Tara Prasad coal block. When Congress was in power in Rajasthan, Adani operated two large mines, Gare Pelma Sector-2 and the KK Extension Plant. Kashyap challenged Baghel, saying that as Chief Minister, Bhupesh Baghel recommended environmental clearance on October 16, 2019. “If Bhupesh Baghel has forgotten, I will give him his recommendations with the exact dates,” Kashyap stated. He also mentioned the Gare Pelma Sector-2 open cast mine agreement from March 31, 2021, and the forest clearance recommendations (Stage 1 and Stage 2) made by the Congress government under Baghel on April 19, 2022, and January 23, 2023. The minister stressed that Bhupesh Baghel’s involvement in coal approvals was widely reported and is clear to everyone. He accused Congress of “sacrificing” the state and the country to protect its own people. “On one hand, Congress gives out coal mines, and on the other, it illegally approves them.

 

When they are in opposition, to benefit themselves they propose economic blockades. Such actions hurt the people of Chhattisgarh and will damage state’s economy, trade, and jobs,” he warned. Kashyap said they don’t care about the results. “They want the whole system to crash because of these economic blockades, leading to chaos and violence,” he claimed. Kashyap challenged Bhupesh Baghel asking will the former CM apologize for Congress’s past decisions. He accused Congress of “harming the people” to save itself, stating their “deception is obvious. He said that public saw his “politics of accusation” and elected Vishnu Deo Sai as Chief Minister who cares for the welfare of the people.