Madhya Pradesh police file FIR against Digvijaya Singh for sharing CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan's edited video

Digvijay Singh has alleged political vendetta as the Madhya Pradesh police on Monday lodged an FIR against him on the charge of sharing “edited” video of Shivraj Singh Chouhan days after the veteran Congress leader had sought in writing action in alleged duping of tribals in the chief minister’s constituency to the tune of Rs 450 crore.

The police registered an FIR against Digvijay Singh and 11 others on the charge of sharing an alleged "edited" video in which the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is purportedly exhorting excise department employees to supply liquor in abundance so that people remained drunk.

According to the police, the nine-second video is edited from the chief minister’s old statement on the liquor policy of the previous Kamal Nath government.

Digvijay Singh, who has deleted the video, said he had no objection to the FIR against him, but the police should also investigate the source of the video and who "edited" it.

The FIR was lodged following a complaint by a group of BJP leaders who met cybercrime department officials.

According to the complainants, the original video is of 2.19-minute length which was edited and a nine-second cropped part of it was shared on Twitter by Singh to malign the image of the chief minister.

On the basis of the complaint, a case has been registered against 12 people, including Digivijaya Singh and Avinash Kadbe (MP Congress' social media coordinator)," Additional Superintendent of Police Nishchal Jharia said.

They have been charged under IPC Sections 500 (defamation), 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory), 505 (2) (public mischief) and 465 (forgery), the official said.

Reacting to the development, Digvijay Singh said the BJP is upset as he raised an issue of cheating in Chief Minister Chouhan's constituency.

"The BJP has been fuming and is perturbed since I wrote to Chouhan that tribals in his constituency Budhni have duped of Rs 450 crore by his agents. No action was taken during Chouhans (previous) tenure. I wrote to him that if no action would be taken, I will be forced to sit on a dharna at the CM's residence”, Singh told reporters.

State Congress president and former chief minister Kamal Nath criticised the action against Digvijay Singh.

"The BJP government is continuously showing its malicious thinking by taking oppressive action against Congress leaders in the state, Nath said.