nThe Chhattisgarh Congress on Thursday raised the demand to cancel the Lok Sabha membership of BJP leader Vijay Baghel and said it will initiate legal action to prohibit him from contesting again.
The party accused him of receiving more agriculture income than shown in his election affidavit and said the amount received from paddy sale, bonus and what was got from the Rajiv Gandhi Nyay Yojana should be deposited with the state exchequer.
Addressing the media, PCC Vice President Girish Dewangan, Communication Department chief Shailesh Nitin Trivedi and Communication department member R.P. Singh said the BJP and its leaders have been involved in misleading the farmers.
Raking up issue of the BJP Durg MP's land holdings, they said a complaint had been lodged with the President, Lok Sabha Speaker, the Election Commission and Chief Electoral Officer, Chhattisgarh.
Listing the details, R.P. Singh said in the Assembly election 2008, Baghel's nomination paper recorded his agriculture land of 1.35 hectares in village Urla and 0.708 hectare in village Janjgiri Dhamdha. This was also claimed in the 2013 Assembly and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
However, records showed that in 2017-18 around 49.6 quintals of paddy were sold but the land area in 2018-19 increased to 16.95 acres and a total of 253.6 quintals of paddy was sold.
Similarly, in 2019-20, area shown was 16.95 acres with 253.6 quintals of paddy sold. The area in 2020-21 was 16.65 acres against which 249.2 quintals of rice was sold. This was more land that what had been stated in the affidavit.
The Congress said that as details of land holdings have been concealed, action should be taken against him. If necessary, the Congress will initiate the legal proceedings.