ED move on Baghel: Raids come where elections are due, quips Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot described the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday as a "birthday gift" to his counterpart in that state, Bhupesh Baghel.

Gehlot said the ED will conduct raids wherever elections are due, referring to the assembly polls scheduled later this year in Chhattisgarh.

"Elections are coming there (in Chhattisgarh). Wherever there are elections, the ED raids will be there. Today is the birthday of Baghel. So, the ED has given him a birthday gift," he told reporters in Jaipur.

The ED earlier in the day searched the premises of Baghel's political advisor Vinod Verma and an Officer on Special Duty as well as the premises of a businessman in Durg city. The case in connection with which the searches were conducted was not known.

The ED has been investigating different cases in Chhattisgarh pertaining to an alleged coal scam, liquor scam, irregularities in the District Mineral Foundation fund and an online betting application.

(With agency inputs)