New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS): The Congress on Friday hit back at the Central government saying that faced with "a certain defeat" in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan in the upcoming Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unleashed his last remaining weapon -- ED -- the 'Modiastra', to damage the reputation of party leaders.

The party said the threats and intimidation will only strengthen the resolve of voters who know this is just election drama reflecting the BJP's desperation.

The sharp retort from the grand old party came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed that Chattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was paid Rs 508 crore by Mahadev Online Books promoters.

In a post on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said: "Faced with the prospects of a certain defeat in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the PM has unleashed his last and only remaining astra -- ED -- the Modiastra to damage the reputation of Congress leaders.

"But the people of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are the Congress party's Kavach. Modi's threats and intimidation will only strengthen the resolve of voters who know this is just election drama reflecting the BJP’s desperation," Ramesh said.

In a major development ahead of the crucial Assembly elections, the ED on Friday claimed that Baghel was paid Rs 508 crore by the promoters of Mahadev Online Books.

The ED said that it received credible inputs and conducted a successful search operations on November 2 in Chhattisgarh in which Rs 5.39 crore cash has been intercepted in the poll-bound state.

It said that on Thursday, the ED received an intelligence input that a large amount of cash is being moved in Chhattisgarh in relation to Assembly Elections scheduled on November 7 and 17.