Gujarat BJP Office-Bearer Suspended For 6 Years On Bribery Allegation

A BJP office-bearer in Gujarat was suspended from the party for six years after a video went viral in which a man was purportedly asking him about the money he had paid for securing the job of a conductor in the State Transport Corporation.

The suspended office-bearer is identified as Jashubhai Bhil, who is the vice president of Gujarat BJP's Scheduled Tribe Morcha. Mr Bhil on Sunday denied taking any money and said the video was recorded under conspiracy to defame him.

Mr Bhil is a tribal leader hailing from the Chhota Udepur district. He is currently serving as the vice president of the BJP's ST Morcha. He had earlier headed the Chhota Udepur district unit of the BJP.

"As ordered by the state president CR Patil, disciplinary action is being taken against Jashu Bhil and he is being suspended from the party for six years with immediate effect," Gujarat BJP said in a statement.

In the video, which has gone viral on social media, a man is seen questioning Mr Bhil about the status of the employment for which he had allegedly paid Mr Bhil money after borrowing it on interest.

The man purportedly says that he is not given an appointment even two years after making the payment and wants to know when he will get his money back.

The video seems to have been recorded during the coronavirus-induced lockdown period as Mr Bhil purportedly says that offices are closed due to the lockdown and the man should come when they reopen.

The man says that other people have already secured a job and questions when he will get it. The video is apparently recorded on a mobile phone.

The man, who identified himself as Samad Makrani, claimed that Mr Bhil had taken Rs 40,000 from him assuring him a job as a conductor in the state transport in 2018.

"I repeatedly requested him (Mr Bhil) over the phone to return my money but he was not giving me a straight answer. To prove this, I recorded this video," he told reporters.

Mr Bhil denied having taken the money and said the conversation was about helping Mr Makrani get his money back from a middle man who had promised him a job. "The video was recorded as part of a conspiracy to defame me," he told reporters.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)