On Saturday, August 12, Indore Police registered an FIR against handlers of X (formerly Twitter) accounts of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath, along with former union minister Arun Yadav. The action comes after the ruling BJP warned legal action over X posts of the said leaders accusing the BJP government of corruption.
The Indore Police Commissioner said late on August 12 in a statement issued on X that the local BJP’s legal cell convenor Nimesh Pathak complained that a false letter bearing the identity of a person named Gyanendra Awasthi was disseminated on social media.
According to the letter, contractors across the state are required to pay a 50 percent commission.
According to the statement, a case has been filed against Awasthi as well as the “handlers” of the ‘X’ accounts of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Kamal Nath, and Arun Yadav at the Sanyogitaganj police station. The police added that an investigation into the matter is underway.
— Commissioner of Police,Indore (@CP_INDORE) August 12, 2023
Meanwhile, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Ramsanehi Mishra stated that an FIR had been filed at the Sanyogitaganj police station in Indore against the X (formerly Twitter) “handles” of the three Congress leaders.
On Pathak’s allegation, he added, the case was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating) and 469 (forgery with intent to harm reputation).
Pathak claimed that Congress leaders collaborated to smear the image of the state government and his party by spreading misleading social media posts and accusing the state’s BJP leadership of corruption.
In response to the police action, MP Congress president Kamal Nath stated, “Hundreds of corruption cases have taken place in the state. How many cases are they going to file? They are trying to make false agenda and people understand it very well.”
In a post on X, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that contractors in Madhya Pradesh are being coerced into paying commissions.
मध्य प्रदेश में ठेकेदारों के संघ ने हाईकोर्ट के मुख्य न्यायाधीश को पत्र लिखकर शिकायत की है कि प्रदेश में 50% कमीशन देने पर ही भुगतान मिलता है।
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) August 11, 2023
कर्नाटक में भ्रष्ट BJP सरकार 40% कमीशन की वसूली करती थी। मध्य प्रदेश में BJP भ्रष्टाचार का अपना ही रिकॉर्ड तोड़कर आगे निकल गई है।… pic.twitter.com/LVemnZQ9b6
“The Union of Contractors in Madhya Pradesh has written a letter to the Chief Justice of the High Court complaining that payment is received only after paying 50% commission in the state. The corrupt BJP government in Karnataka used to collect 40% commission. In Madhya Pradesh, BJP has gone ahead by breaking its own record of corruption. The people of Karnataka ousted the government with 40% commission, now the people of Madhya Pradesh will remove the BJP government with 50% commission from power,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra posted on Friday.
