An alleged sex video of Congress MLA Suresh Raje from the Dabra Assembly in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh has gone viral on social media. In the undated 6-minute 37-second video, the Congress leader is seen in a compromising position with a young man in a hotel room.
Shocking news coming from MP!
— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) August 24, 2023
Congress MLA Suresh Raje's homosexuaI MMS with a "boy" is leaked..
Credit goes to Nehru?? pic.twitter.com/gZiPKMJ6oO
The video has drawn the ire of members of the BJP party who slammed the Congress minister and urged the party higher-ups to take strict action against their leader.
Lokendra Prashar, a BJP leader said, “The video involving Congress MLA Suresh Raje in a compromising position is very shameful. He is a representative of the public. The public looks at him. I am surprised that state Congress PCC Chief Kamal Nath is silent on this. A strict action must be taken against the MLA.”
In the video, the MLA is seen sitting on the bed while the youth is heard telling Raje to give him an opportunity, assuring him that he won’t regret it. Speaking in Hindi the youth is heard telling the Congress MLA “Aap kabhi mauka dijiye. Aap mujhe apna bana lijiye. Hum aapko kush kardenge” (give me an opportunity once, make me yours, I’ll make you happy).
Although it’s not clear who is filming, the camera follows the young man even as he uses the restroom. It is clear that the MLA is aware that the video is being taken, but he expresses no objections.
Congress MLA calls the video morphed, claims he is being blackmailed
After the video went viral, however, when the Congress MLA was asked to comment on it to which he said that the video was ‘morphed’. He claimed that the video is ‘highly edited’ and that he has been subjected to prolonged attempts of political and financial blackmail by those who recorded it. He added that he was threatened with viral circulation if he didn’t pay an extortion amount of Rs 50 lakh.
“For the last week, I have been receiving threat messages saying give Rs 50 lakh or else my political career will be ruined. And days after this video surfaced. This clearly shows the conspiracy to implicate me. I will definitely file a complaint regarding the fake video which is doing rounds on social media,” he said.
He claimed that there had been discussions about the video over the last five to six months, but he was unconcerned because he believed that the truth would eventually come out.
When questioned as to why he has not yet filed any complaints, Raje said, “Yes, I have been receiving blackmail messages, but I did not want to make a complaint then because I wanted to see their next move. And see, it is in front of everyone. If I had registered a complaint, then maybe they realeased this fake video during the elections. Then It would have been difficult for me to give ‘explanations to the public. This is the right time that they released the video. Now I will take action ‘against them.”
Reaffirming his commitment, the Congress MLA said that he had evidence to back his claim which he would give to the police.
Suresh Raje came into limelight in 2020
In the 2020 Madhya Pradesh bypoll, Suresh Raje defeated BJP minister Imarti Devi to win the Dabra assembly seat. Imarti Devi, considered a loyalist of BJP Rajya Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia, had quit Congress along with nearly two dozens other MLAs, in March 2020 to join the BJP. After Imarti Devi’s resignation, there were bypolls in the district, which she contested on BJP ticket. However, she was defeated by Suresh Raje in the byolls. Raje who was previously a member of the BJP had defected and joined the Congress even before the elections.
Congress bigwigs like Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot campaigned for Suresh Raje
After three electoral setbacks, Suresh Raje left the BJP and tried his luck on a Congress ticket. Prior to the 2020 bypolls, Congress veteran leaders Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot had campaigned hard for Suresh Raje. Notably, while campaigning for the bypoll from the Dabra assembly, Kamal Nath had launched a mysoginist attack on Imarti Devi referring to her as an “item.” Nath’s lewd and sexist remark had generated a huge controversy. Election Commission had issued a show cause notice to the Congress bigwig and withdrew Nath’s star campaigner status for violating model code of conduct. The former chief minister later expressed regret over the comment.
Suresh Raje, meanwhile, had defeated Imarti Devi in that election. Since Imarti Devi was a minister, Raje’s victory was considered a huge deal. However, his video going viral could spell trouble for him ahead of the upcoming elections.
