Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s son Kartikey Chouhan on Saturday recorded his statement in a court in Bhopal in a defamation case he has filed against Congress President Rahul Gandhi for alleging his name had appeared in the Panama Papers. The Panama Papers leak in 2016 revealed the names of politicians, movie stars and business leaders across the world who had stashed money in tax havens.
“He [Gandhi] levelled allegations against me from a public platform and said I was involved in the Panama Papers leak,” ANI quoted Kartikey Chouhan as saying. “Later he said he was wrong. False allegations were levelled against my father and me. I have recorded my statement in this regard today.” On Tuesday, Kartikey Chouhan had demanded an apology from Gandhi within 48 hours.
Kartikey Chouhan’s lawyer claimed that Gandhi had committed a criminal offence. He said the court would hear the case next on December 17.
On Monday, Shivraj Singh Chouhan threatened to file a criminal defamation case against Gandhi for accusing him and his family of being involved in the Vyapam and the Panama Papers scams. In response, the Congress president said he had been confused between the scams as the BJP was involved in many corruption cases.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is investigating cases related to alleged irregularities in various entrance and recruitment exams conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board – also known as the Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal, or Vyapam. Although first information reports in the scam have been filed since 1995, the racket finally came to light in May 2012.
Madhya Pradesh, which has been ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the last 15 years, goes to the polls on November 28.
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