Public won't tolerate Chhattisgarh becoming ATM of Congress: Anurag Thakur

RAIPUR: Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday said that the public in Chhattisgarh is fed up with the alleged scams of the Bhupesh Baghel government and people are not going to tolerate the state becoming the ATM of the Congress party.

Speaking to reporters in Raipur, Anurag Thakur said," Congress is looting the resources of Chhattisgarh and pushing the state backwards. Congress will be defeated in the upcoming elections. The public is ready for it as they are not going to tolerate the state becoming the ATM of the Congress party."

Thakur further stated that the wind of Assembly elections has been in the favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. "PM Modi has ensured several schemes for the state. Many projects are being completed and many more were inaugurated under his visionary leadership. The wind is going in favour of Prime Minister Modi and BJP," he said.

On Congress promising Caste census in Chhattisgarh, if it returns to power, Union Minister Thakur said, "We have provided toilets to the people. People have been getting subsidised grains for the past 30 months. All this was given to those in need. This was never given on the basis of religion and caste."

Earlier BJP on Thursday released the list of 40-star campaigners for the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, scheduled to be held in November.

The list also figures party national president JP Nadda, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Mansukh Mandaviya, Dharmendra Pradhan, Smriti Irani, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and others. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on October 10 has announced 85 candidates for the 90-seat Assembly, fielding former chief minister Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon constituency. Moreover, the Congress has so far released 83 candidates' list.

Polling for 20 seats in the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will be held on November 7 while votes for the remaining 70 seats will be cast in the second phase on November 17. The counting of votes in Chhattisgarh, along with those in four other poll-bound states, has been scheduled for December 3. The Model Code of Conduct has already come into effect in Chhattisgarh.

In the last assembly polls in 2018, the Congress recorded a landslide mandate, winning 68 seats of the 90 seats while the BJP finished a distant second at just 15 seats.