Commission controversy hits poll-bound MP as Cong, BJP fight over corruption allegations

Bhopal, Aug 13 (IANS) The allegation of alleged '50 per cent' commission against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has heated up the politics in poll-bound state much like what was witnessed ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections held earlier.

Enraged with allegations made through social media posts, the BJP in Madhya Pradesh has lodged FIRs in 41 districts and has accused the Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Kamal Nath of conspiring to malign the image of the state government by sharing ‘misleading’ social media posts.     

Interestingly, the FIRs were lodged not just against the Congress leaders but also against the person (Gyanendra Awasthi) whose name was mentioned in the letter circulated on social media. Claiming himself to be a Gwalior-based contractor, Awasthi has mentioned that he was asked to pay '50 per cent commission' to reclaim the amount from the state government.

 The Congress leaders have sharpened their attack on saffron leaders. The party has come out with a plan to make the issue bigger to corner the ruling side ahead of the Assembly polls.

In response to the FIRs, former Chief Minister and Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath on Sunday appealed to the party workers to “stand against corruption and uproot this 50 per cent commission rule".

In a social media post, Kamal Nath said, “FIRs were lodged by BJP leaders in various districts of the state against Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh and myself. The BJP government, which is called ‘commission raj’, cannot investigate corruption, but can persecute those who raise apprehension.”

Senior Congress spokesperson Santosh Singh alleged that after the ‘commission of 50 per cent’ came to the fore, the BJP has "freaked out". Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tanka accused the state police of being ‘biased’ and acting on behalf of the BJP government in registering FIRs against the Congress leaders.

“MP police avoided the allegation of favoritism. Police showed political bias by registering FIRs against us. FIRs were lodged without any investigation. Take action against the corrupt. Fight with the corrupt, not with the formula,” Tankha posted a message on his social media account on Sunday morning.   

The Congress leaders have been booked under IPC sections 420 (cheating) and 469 (forgery with intent to harm reputation). Notably, on Friday, Priyanka Gandhi has claimed on social media that a union of contractors from Madhya Pradesh has written a letter to the Chief Justice of the High Court complaining that their payment was released only after paying 50 per cent commission.

“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 alleged in the post on Friday.