Raipur (Chhattisgarh): Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's plans to aquire the Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College located in Bhilai has erupted into a controversy, with BJP leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Raman Singh, levelling allegations against the former of trying to bail out his son-in-law's private college using government funds.
Meanwhile, CM Bhupesh Baghel rubbishing the allegations tweeted, "Various speculations are being made on a news published on Chandulal Chandrakar Medical College. They are all baseless. This is an attempt to save the future of a medical college and hundreds of students in the state. This will save the time of building a new medical college and every year the state will get 150 doctors. As far as kinship and vested interests are concerned, I want to tell the people of my state that Bhupesh Baghel is responsible to him and he has always done politics with transparency, there will always be transparency in the government. If the deal is done then everything will be clear. This news is a controversy stemming from the height of imagination. which I challenge. If there is a question of public interest, the government will also buy a private medical college and plant at Nagarnar. We are and will remain in favor of the public sector. We are not selling public property like them.''
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Speaking on the issue, Union Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said, "Bhupesh Baghel is trying to buy his son-in-law's private college from government funds to save it. The state money is used for his son-in-law, a medical college that was accused of fraud by the Medical Council of India. The definition of who is salable and who is sustainable is now clear!"
"To benefit his relatives, Bhupesh Baghel is bringing a bill for the acquisition of Chandulal Chandrakar Medical College. Preparations are underway to give 125 crores from the government treasury to the family of the Chief Minister, the college whose recognition was lost in 2017," former Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh said.
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About six months earlier, the Chhattisgarh CM had announced about the decision to aquire the private medical college and had mentioned about the same in the budget of 2021-22. Meanwhile, state health minister T. S. Singh Deo will be introducing a bill in the state assembly on Wednesday in this regard to acquire the privately-owned CCMH, located in Durg district. The bill will be put forward in the assembly session after getting approval from the cabinet.