Digvijaya seeks FIR against MP CM Irani over 'fake' video

    Bhopal, Jun 17 (PTI) Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh
on Wednesday filed a complaint with the Madhya Pradesh Police,
seeking registration of an FIR against Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chouhan and Union minister Smriti Irani for "sharing a
fake video" of former AICC president Rahul Gandhi during the
2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign.
    The senior Congress leader and a large number of
partymen went to the office of Crime Branch of Police in
Bhopal on Wednesday morning and submitted a complaint in this
connection.
    In his complaint, Singh said that Chouhan had tweeted
Rahul Gandhi's "fake" video, which Irani had re-tweeted.
    On Monday, the police had registered an FIR against
Digvijaya Singh and 11 others for allegedly circulating an
"edited" clip of Chouhan's old statement (given on January 12
this year) on the liquor policy of the previous Kamal Nath
government.
    "Shivraj Singh Chouhan also committed the same crime
for which an FIR was filed against me. If an FIR can be filed
against me, the MP CM should also be booked. We demand that
the MP Police register an FIR against him just as they did
against me," Digvijaya told reporters outside the crime branch
office.
    "I had written a letter to Chouhan that tribals in his
constituency Budhni were duped of Rs 450 crore. I wrote to him
that if no action is taken in this case, I will be forced to
sit on a dharna outside the CM's residence. After this, an FIR
was filed against me," he said.
    Digvijaya Singh also accused the state government of
harassing his party workers, who were booked along with him.
    "The Congress workers are being harassed by the
police. The police should first investigate the source of the
video and who edited it and then take action," he added.
    In the letter submitted to the crime branch, Singh
alleged that Chouhan had tweeted a fake video of Rahul Gandhi
on May 16, 2019 "to malign his image" in the public.
    The Congress leader also submitted links of some
prominent news portals along with this complaint.
    As per the complaint, Chouhan's tweet read: "What is
this? Rahul ji, you have changed the Madhya Pradesh's Chief
Minister for not waiving off loans of farmers on time, at
least in speech. Only a great person like you can do such
things in a jiffy". Chouhan had also shared a video of Rahul
Gandhi with the tweet.
    According to the news report attached with the
complaint, Chouhan's reaction was to the 13-second video of
Rahul Gandhi in which the latter purportedly says, "Chief
Minister of Madhya Pradesh Bhupesh Baghel ji, Chhattisgarh's
Chief Minister Hukum Singh Karada ji".
    The speech was reportedly given by Rahul Gandhi at a
poll rally in MP's Neemuch on May 14, 2019.
    The news item tagged by Singh also mentions a link of
Rahul Gandhi's "original" speech, in which he purportedly
said, "Kamal Nath ji, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh,
Bhupesh Baghel ji, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Hukum Singh
Karada ji, PC Sharma ji".
    By re-tweeting this tweet of Chouhan, union minister
Smriti Irani helped the MP CM in this criminal conspiracy,
Digvijaya Singh's complaint said.
    The Congress leader demanded that a case against
Chouhan, Irani and their associates be filed under IPC
sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 469 (forgery to harm
the reputation) 500 (defamation), 501 (printing or engraving
matter known to be defamatory), 505 (2) (public mischief) and
120-B (criminal conspiracy) and relevant sections of IT Act.
    Meanwhile, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP),
Crime branch, Nischal Jharia, told PTI that a letter has been
received in this regard and "suitable action would be taken
after investigation into the matter".
    Reacting to the development, state Home Minister Dr
Narottam Mishra said, "It would have been better had he
(Digvijaya) filed the complaint against the cheating with the
farmers in Rs 2-lakh farm loan waiver, in providing
unemployment allowance, giving scooty and laptops to girls. He
will be vanished after the Rajya Sabha polls."
    Farm loan waiver, giving unemployment allowance,
giving scooty and laptops were the poll promises given by the
Congress ahead of the last state assembly polls held in
November 2018.
    On Monday, Digvijaya Singh, MP Congress' social media
coordinator Avinash Kadbe and 10 others were booked under IPC
sections 500 (defamation), 501 (printing or engraving matter
known to be defamatory), 505 (2) (public mischief) and 465
(forgery) on a complaint lodged by BJP leaders. PTI ADU MAS
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)