MP: BJP files complaint against Priyanka Gandhi over '50% commission' post

Priyanka Gandhi stated that a union of contractors from Madhya Pradesh had written to the high court's chief justice, claiming that they received payments only after paying 50% commission

On Sunday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Madhya Pradesh filed a complaint against Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi over her tweet accusing the BJP-led state government of corruption. 

The BJP accused Gandhi of "speaking fake news" based on a "forged letter", which claimed that contractors in the state are forced to pay a 50 per cent commission.

While state medical education minister Vishwas Sarang and other BJP MLAs filed a complaint with the crime branch in Bhopal, another complaint was submitted with the Sanyogita Ganj police station in Indore, seeking a FIR against the Congress leader.

Priyanka Gandhi, on Friday, alleged that the government contractors in the state receive payment "only after paying a 50 per cent commission". She also claimed that the contractors' union had written to the chief justice of the High Court about the commission demand.

"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 on X (formerly Twitter).
 

The "50 per cent commission" became a hot topic in the state after a letter signed by one Gyanendra Awasthi went viral. It claimed that key contractors had to pay 50 per cent commission to get the payment of the work released.

BJP reacts on Priyanka Gandhi's '50% commission' post

Slamming the grand old party, Madhya Pradesh BJP president VD Sharma said, "Congress is trying to tarnish the image of Madhya Pradesh on the basis of a false letter. Earlier, her brother cheated the public by lying. Now Priyanka is spreading lies. The BJP will take legal action against this act of Congress leaders."

The coordinator of BJP's legal wing in Indore, Nimesh Pathak, stated that they have filed the complaint against Priyanka Gandhi, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath and former Union minister Arun Yadav.

"On July 25, the Congress party made a letter go viral in the name of Gyanendra Awasthi, accusing the Madhya Pradesh government of taking 50 per cent commission from the contractor. In our investigation, it was revealed that no person named Gyanendra Awasthi is a contractor," Pathak said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan further stated that he had asked the intelligence department to probe the allegations and it was found that this man does not exist and the address of the organisation mentioned in the letter is fake.

BJP vs Congress in Madhya Pradesh election

The election in Madhya Pradesh is expected to be a tough fight between the ruling BJP and Congress. Madhya Pradesh, which has 230 seats, has the BJP in the majority and is led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The 2023 election in the state will come nearly four years after the Congress government collapsed in the state forcing the then CM Kamal Nath to quit. Congress had won the previous assembly election and formed the government.

However, a rebellion and defection by former Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia enabled BJP's Shivraj Singh Chouhan to return to power.