Bhopal: A video in which veteran leader Digvijay Singh, a Congress candidate for the prestigious Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, is seen distributing money to people has gone viral, provoking the BJP to move the Election Commission for action against him.
Congress, however, dismissed the alarm and said Mr Singh was simply “helping some beggars”.
In the purported video clip, Mr Singh was seen dispensing currency notes of '20 each to some people after emerging from a temple.
The video was said to have been shot when Mr Singh was coming out of a temple in the district headquarters of Sehore, which is part of Bhopal LS constituency, on Friday.
“Mr Digvijay Singh was caught doling out money to people after visiting a temple in Sehore on Friday. He began his campaign after visiting the temple. It was a clear case of violation of the Model Code of Conduct”, state BJP vice-president Vijesh Lunawat, who led a delegation of his party to EC here on Saturday seeking action against Mr Singh, told reporters.
The Congress Party attacked BJP for “making a mountain out of a molehill”, and wondered, “How could one influence elections by giving a paltry '20 each to beggars sitting outside a temple”.
“It is customary on part of a Hindu devotee to give some money to the poor after worshipping in a temple out of compassion. We feel pity on BJP for making it an issue. This clearly shows that the BJP has a bankruptcy of issues to raise against the Congress,” Congress spokesperson here, Bhupendra Gupta, told this newspaper.
“Helping poor certainly does not violate the Model Code of Conduct,” he added.
Mr Singh was keen to contest from Rajgarh parliamentary constituency, his pocket borough, in the upcoming polls. However, he was asked by Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath to choose the “toughest seat” if he wanted to contest the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. Mr Singh accepted Mr Nath’s challenge to contest from Bhopal, which has remained with BJP since 1989.
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