Chhattisgarh Cong chief gets call from Maoists assuring support to party

Chhattisgarh Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel claimed that he had received a phone call, from a person claiming to be Maoist leader Ganpathy, who offered support to his party for the upcoming polls.

While addressing a press conference, the Congress leader said, the man on the phone stated that the Maoists now want to support the Congress like they supported the BJP in the previous polls.

"Last evening I received a phone call from a person named Ganpathy. When I said how could I believe that he was Ganpathy, he said had anyone ever called you in the past posing as Ganpathy. He told me that they (Maoists) had influence in 37 Assembly seats and wanted to support the Congress in this election, the way they had supported the BJP in the last two elections," said Baghel.

"The Naxal leader asked me when I am going to meet him. I disconnected the call without replying," he added

Baghel further said that the conversation went on for few minutes the details of which he had provided to the police.

"Initially, I thought that it can't be Maoist but the true caller service displayed it as Ganapathy from Hyderabad", he said.

The Patan MLA further said he immediately reported the matter to Durg Superintendent of Police (SP), Sanjeev Shukla .

"I feel there is something fishy. It could be a political trap", the state Congress chief said and demanded a thorough investigation into the matter.