Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel refuting the allegation of state’s former chief minister and Janta Congress Chhattisgarh Jogi (JCC-J) Supremo Ajit Jogi on Wednesday said he had no personal animosity with Jogi and had no influence on the high power scrutiny committee which had cancelled the caste certificates of Jogi.
While talking to media persons before leaving on a tour of Mungeli and Mahasamund regions Baghel rejected the charges of Jogi that the committee was influenced by him and the decision was prejudiced. “It was solely the decision of high power scrutiny committee over which neither the state government nor me had any influence”, he categorically said.
“It was BJP and its leaders Brijmohan Agrawal, Shivratan Sharma and Ajay Chandrakar who challenged his caste in the Supreme Court and the probe on his caste were started only after that. The Congress government under my leadership had only continued the process”, Baghel said.
Notable, the high power scrutiny committee constituted by Baghel government followed by instruction of Chhattisgarh High Court Bilaspur had reportedly concluded that Jogi failed to substantiate his claim of being a member of the ‘Kanwar’ community, a Scheduled Tribe, and hence all the caste certificates declaring him to be a tribal stand cancelled. The committee was headed by D D Singh, Secretary, Tribal Welfare Department.