The Madhya Pradesh Congress has demanded an inquiry into an alleged phone call recording of BJP’s Rajya Sabha candidate Jyotiraditya Scindia wherein a former Congress Corporator mentioned to him a deposit of ₹50 lakh in an attempt to secure a ticket ahead of the 2018 Vidhan Sabha election.
Based on the alleged recording which went viral on social media, a Congress delegation, led by party Gwalior-Chambal media incharge K.K. Mishra, met Raja Babu Singh, Inspector General of Police, Gwalior Zone, on Friday demanding an FIR be registered and a special investigation team conduct the inquiry.
“Let me tell you that submitting a memorandum doesn’t mean things are true. Many a time fake clips are made viral, and I don’t think there is any truth in this [the clip],” said Mr. Singh. “But since they have submitted a memo, I’ll get it inquired and see what the truth is.”
Shivraj video
The Congress released the audio clip a day after an audio and a video recording of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan addressing BJP workers in Indore went viral wherein he is reportedly heard informing them the central leadership had decided the fall of the Kamal Nath government.
In the alleged audio clip, former four-time Congress corporator in Ashoknagar Anita Jain is heard informing Mr. Scindia that she had deposited ₹50 lakh with one Mr. Agarwal on the advice of “Parashar ji”, a reference to Mr. Scindia’s personal secretary Purushottam Parashar.
“Ahead of the 2018 Assembly election, Ms. Jain was seeking a Congress ticket for her daughter-in-law which was eventually denied,” said Mr. Mishra.
Claiming the audio clip had been doctored and pieced together from different sources, BJP spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi, an aide of Mr. Scindia, said, “In legal and political procedures audios and videos have no importance. I hope the Congress gets some common sense.”
