 "Shivraj singh chouhan, election in Madhya pradesh")
The political battle in the lead-up to the Madhya Pradesh elections has heated up yet again.
On Thursday, the Indian Youth Congress launched a new "commission" offensive, just days after legal action was initiated in response to social media posts by senior leaders Priyanka Gandhi and MP Congress chief Kamal Nath pointing fingers at corruption within the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government.
Taking to the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), the Congress shared an illustration featuring Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan cooking with 'ingredients' like 'tender,' 'commission' and 'scams.' The caption read, "Mamato's 'Special Khichdi,' full of scams and complete with a 50 per cent commission."
Mamato 'स्पेशल खिचड़ी' घोटालों से भरपूर....
— MP Youth Congress (@IYCMadhya) August 17, 2023
कमिशन पूरा 50% pic.twitter.com/3MDSeOkSZG
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Another post featured an animated face of Shivraj Singh Chouhan riding a bicycle with a delivery bag, with the message, "Get a 50 per cent commission and receive home delivery."
"Mamato"
— MP Youth Congress (@IYCMadhya) August 17, 2023
घोटालों की तत्काल होम डिलीवरी... pic.twitter.com/7DnTqqzsUI
The recent posters surfaced days after Indore police lodged an FIR against the "handlers" of the 'X' accounts belonging to senior Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi, Kamal Nath and Arun Yadav in response to a post accusing the state government of corruption.
Nimesh Pathak, the convener of the local BJP's legal cell, filed a complaint regarding a "fake" letter circulating on social media, allegedly authored by Gyanendra Awasthi. The letter claims that contractors within the state are being coerced into paying a 50 per cent commission.
On August 11, Priyanka Gandhi made a statement on the X platform, alleging that a consortium of contractors hailing from Madhya Pradesh had penned a letter to the Chief Justice of the High Court, expressing concerns about their payments being withheld until a 50 per cent commission was paid.
"The corrupt BJP government in Karnataka used to collect 40 per cent commission. In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has gone ahead by breaking its own record of corruption. People of Karnataka ousted the 40 per cent commission government, now the people of Madhya Pradesh will remove the 50 per cent commission government from power," she wrote.
Kamal Nath and Arun Yadav echoed similar sentiments in their posts.
In response, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra requested substantiating evidence from the Congress leader to validate her claims. He cautioned that if such evidence was not provided, the state government and the BJP might consider legal action.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan refuted the claims, stating that the Opposition party was disseminating falsehoods.
