Chhattisgarh Congress MLA seen with bundles of cash in viral video
A video of a Congress MLA from Chhattisgarh purportedly sitting in front of bundles of cash has triggered a row with the BJP raising allegations of "corruption" in the state whereas the legislator in question said it was a conspiracy to malign his image.
Chhattisgarh BJP general secretary OP Choudhary on Sunday shared this video on his social media handle claiming Congress has made Chhattisgarh a den of corruption.
The video clip shows MLA Ramkumar Yadav sitting on a sofa placed beside a bed where bundles of cash are kept. Another man is seen sitting along with Yadav, while the face of a third person sitting beside the cash on bed is not seen.
“Will Congress accept this video in which bundles of notes are placed in front of its MLA or if it has any doubt over the video, will it show the courage to hand over the matter to CBI for investigation?” Choudhary wrote on X.
He said Yadav, who represents the Chandrapur constituency, identifies himself as poor and lives in a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
"His father and grandfather used to graze cattle as well, as he claims. But see the bundle of cash kept in front of him in this video going viral on social media.
"All Congressmen have looted Chhattisgarh for five years. Congress's culture of corruption and Mafia Raj... There is a mafia raj in everything, including fly ash, sand, coal, liquor…” the BJP leader alleged.
Addressing a press conference, Choudhary said Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel should show courage to accept the "truth" of this video and take action against his party MLA.
If Baghel has any doubt over the video then he should recommend a CBI probe into the video, he added.
Hitting back, MLA Ramkumar Yadav dubbed the video as a conspiracy to malign his image by some "feudalists who can't digest when a son of poor becomes MLA".
“Those who have posted this video only can tell its objective. Neither I am looking at the money nor was my attention towards it. I was just sitting there and something was being told to me. It seems it was posted just to malign my image as I come from a poor family,” he claimed.
Commenting on the video, he asked, “ If I get photographed with an aircraft does it mean I become its owner? If Ramkumar gets photographed with a big palace, will he become its owner?" Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh are due later this year.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)