The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh issued a stern warning on Saturday, hinting at possible legal action against Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. This is in response to her social media post accusing the state's BJP-led government of corruption. Later that day, the Gwalior police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against several people in connection with Priyanka Gandhi's post.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra called the allegations "baseless" and demanded concrete evidence from the Congress leader to back up her claims. He warned that if no proof is provided, the state government and the BJP will consider legal action.
While Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan chastised the opposition party for spreading lies on social media, State Congress Chief Kamal Nath claimed that "thousands" of corruption cases remained unresolved.
“There are thousands of corruption cases. How many cases will they file? When corruption cases are being exposed, they (BJP) are left with no other option,” Kamal Nath was quoted as saying by PTI.
The state BJP chief, V D Sharma, echoed the sentiment, accusing Priyanka Gandhi of utilising a fabricated letter in her social media post to level the allegations. He vowed to pursue legal action against her for disseminating false information.
The state Congress responded by pledging to expose corruption within the BJP-led government. The ruling party was also accused of instilling "political terror".
Priyanka Gandhi claimed in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that a union of Madhya Pradesh contractors had written a letter to the Chief Justice of the High Court, alleging that they only received payment after paying a 50% commission. The Congress leader also claimed that the state's BJP-led government was outdoing itself in terms of corruption.
In response to the allegations, Home Minister Mishra called the Congress' actions "politically motivated" and urged Priyanka Gandhi to reveal the identity of the person or contractor who wrote the letter she mentioned in her social media post.