Chouhan’s son sues Rahul over Panama papers claim

The son of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan yesterday filed a defamation case against Congress president Rahul Gandhi for linking his name to the Panama papers.But the Congress chief clarified that he had got “confused” due to “scams” in the Bharatiya Janata Party state governments and was actually referring to the son of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh.Gandhi’s faux pas during a rally in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh on Monday has become a political issue with Chouhan and BJP leaders commenting on it.The Congress president told reporters during an informal interaction in Indore yesterday that he had made allegations against Chouhan’s son in relation to the Panama papers but it actually related to the alleged charges against the son of the Chhattisgarh chief minister.“So many scams have taken place in BJP state governments that I got confused. The name of the son of Madhya Pradesh chief minister is not there in Panama papers. But Vyapam and e-tendering scams have taken place in his rule,” Gandhi said.The Panama papers refers to the leak of millions of files from the database of the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm Mossak Fonseca that helped in setting up off-shore entities.Chouhan’s son Kartikey yesterday filed the defamation case in a special court in Bhopal.His lawyer Shirish Shrivastava told reporters that the case was filed because Gandhi attempted to defame Chouhan and his son during his remarks at a rally in Jabhua.He alleged that it was part of a plan and Gandhi wanted to reap political benefit from his remarks.Shrivastava said that Chouhan and his son have nothing to do with the Panama papers leak case. He said media clippings and a video of Gandhi’s remarks have been submitted with the complaint.Addressing the rally, Gandhi said that the name of Chouhan’s son was there in the Panama papers.Gandhi meanwhile took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying his promise of “achhe din” (good days) had gone up in smoke in just four years and now people were alleging that “chowkidar chor hai” (watchman is corrupt).As he sharpened his barbs, Gandhi uttered the said “chowkidar” and the crowd attending a rally in Dhar roared back: “chor hai”.It was the Congress leader’s last leg of a two-day visit to the state.If on Monday his attacks were aimed at Chouhan, then yesterday Gandhi took aim at the BJP leadership.He named the Rafale deal, the crisis in the Central Buraeu of Investiagtion, and the Nirav Modi-Punjab National Bank scam in the run up to the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls of November 28.“Modi says he is not a ruler but a (political) servant - a watchman. It is a lie. He is not guarding poor people’s assets.A number of BJP leaders yesterday joined the Congress in Madhya Pradesh in Gandhi’s presence.BJP legislator Sanjay Sharma, former lawmaker Kamlapat Arya and Kirar community leader Gulab Singh Kirar joined the party earlier in Indore.