MP: BJP, Congress clash over Union minister's alleged 'fake' video
Ahead of Madhya Pradesh's assembly elections, a video has triggered a war of words between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The now-viral clip shows the son of Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar discussing a Rs. 500 crore "deal." This is the second such video this month, with a previous one featuring Tomar's son—Devendra Singh Tomar—purportedly discussing three deals totaling Rs. 139 crore. The Congress has used the clip to call out the BJP's "corrupt practices."
Why does this story matter?
Elections for the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly are scheduled to take place on Friday (November 17). In the run-up to the polls, both the Congress and BJP are pulling all stops to garner voters. The Congress has, several times, reiterated its claim that the BJP-led state government is involved in multiple corruption scams. Devendra's alleged video could now allow the grand old party to substantiate its claims against its political rival.
BJP state chief calls video 'fake'
Madhya Pradesh's BJP unit chief VD Sharma has called the video "fake" and accused the opposition Congress party of releasing the clips to sway voters before this week's polling, as they have no real issues to address. "A complaint has been made, and the video is being investigated. Elections cannot be won with these tactics," he said. Accusing the Congress of corruption, he underscored that officials confiscated Rs. 281 crore after the 15 months it was in power between 2018-20.
Congress calls for suo motu investigation by ED
The Congress has also called for a suo motu investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into Devendra's video and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to "break their silence." Party spokesperson Ragini Nayak claimed that the BJP's state government had "become synonymous with 50% commission". She called on the BJP to clarify or dismiss the controversy. Meanwhile, Union minister Tomar—who has been filed by the BJP in MP—said, "We should not waste time on fakes."
Rahul Gandhi slams BJP over corruption
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also capitalized on Tomar's videos. Addressing a public rally in Bhopal, he stated, "The BJP has broken all records of corruption... He (Devendra) is saying Rs. 10 crore will go here, Rs. 20 crore there, Rs. 100 crore... Whose money is he talking about? It is the people's money." Gandhi also labeled MP as the "corruption capital" of India and claimed Chouhan's administration takes a 50% commission for all government works.
