Poster war on in Madhya Pradesh, PhonePe morphed poster featuring CM Chouhan surfaces in Ratlam; case registered

Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh) [India], July 3 : The poster war in Madhya Pradesh does not seem to be getting over as in a fresh incident the PhonePe morphed poster featuring Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has surfaced in Ratlam district. The administration removed the posters and also registered a case in the matter.

The posters featuring CM Chouhan, which purportedly say, pay 50 per cent (commission) and get your work done, were put up in Manak Chowk police station area in the district.

When the police came to know about the matter, they swung into action and removed the posters from these places. The police also started searching and checking the CCTV cameras installed nearby places to find out the person who put up the posters.

Manak Chowk police station in-charge, Anurag Yadav said, "We received information last night (July 2) that such posters (posters featuring CM Chouhan) were put up in the city. After that, when we searched, I found posters put up at one place, so necessary action was taken on the spot (removing the poster)."

In this matter, an applicant has also lodged a complaint on Monday, following which a case has been registered under relevant sections and efforts are on to search the accused on the basis of CCTV footage, Yadav added.

Earlier, the posters featuring CM Chouhan, were put up in Gwalior, Chhindwara, Rewa, Satna, and the state capital Bhopal. They had been, however, later removed by the administration.

After the poster surfaced in the state, PhonePe had objected to the "unauthorised usage" of its brand logo by MP Congress and noted that it may take legal actions against them (Congress).

Phonepe had written on its Twitter handle, "PhonePe objects to the unauthorised usage of its brand logo, by any third party, be it political or non-political. We are not associated with any political campaign or party."

"The PhonePe logo is a registered trademark of our company and any unauthorised use of PhonePe's intellectual property rights will invite legal action. We humbly request Madhya Pradesh Congress to remove the posters and banners featuring our brand logo and colour," it added, tagging the Twitter handle of the party's state unit.

In response to the PhonePe's tweet, taking to twitter, Madhya Pradesh Congress had raised a series of questions and wrote, "Dear Phone Pe Team, which poster or banner are you talking about, please mention / clarify and make it public. Is PhonePe also responsible for the use of money transferred under it? Will you monitor the use/misuse of PhonePe in the future and ensure that money transferred through your app is never used for bribery or corruption?"

The state congress also wrote, "Will you certify that there is no corruption in Madhya Pradesh, and if so, what is its rate? Bribe is not accepted in Madhya Pradesh through your app. Has any of your office bearers not had any dialogue with any BJP leader / government in the last seven days?"

"Please come with clarity and transparency otherwise this tweet of yours will be counted as politically motivated and aimed at benefiting a particular party and legal action will be taken against you," the party further wrote on twitter.

After that Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra had also taken a jibe at the Congress Party and said, "It is like 'ek to chori upar se seenajori' (did wrong, still blaming others for it). Anyway, PhonePe is not made for Congress, Congressmen use black money."