Thaindian News

Raipur, Nov 8 (IANS) Countering allegations of corruption, Chhattisgarh’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday asked the Congress to prove the charge that it had engineered scandals to the tune of Rs.20,000 crore since it came to power in 2003.

Minister Brijmohan Agrawal, authorised by the government to counter the opposition’s charges, said: “The Congress should not cross the line while levelling corruption charges against the BJP government. I dare the opposition to prove the charges rather than making unwarranted statements here and there.”

“If the government is involved in massive corruption then why are you (Congress) not approaching relevant forums such as the judiciary to substantiate your charges,” Agrawal said, adding that levelling allegations without evidence showed that the Congress in the state was “mentally bankrupt”.

“Congress accepts the challenge. We are ready to prove the charge that Raman Singh government has engineered scandals to the tune of over Rs.20,000 crore,” said Congress leader and former chief minister Ajit Jogi.

He said the charge that the government was “mired in corruption and scandals from top to bottom” was backed by solid evidence.

In September, a delegation of Congress state leaders had called on President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi and submitted a chargesheet against the Raman Singh government. The party claimed that it had evidence that the government was behind scams of about Rs.20,000 crore since it came to power in the mineral-rich state in December 2003.

Several state Congress leaders were held briefly here last month when they attempted to hand the ‘corruption chargesheet’ to senior BJP leader L.K. Advani when he reached Raipur as part of his Jan Chetna Yatra.