The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Congress of offering Rs 25,000 to social media influencers to attend Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Gunj’ programme in Pune, scheduled for August 22.
On Friday, the BJP shared a video purportedly showing a phone conversation between an unidentified social media influencer and a person claiming to be associated with the Congress. In the conversation, the caller allegedly asks the influencer to attend the event and promote it through her social media account. However, the caller does not explicitly mention Rahul Gandhi, the ‘Chhatron Ki Gunj’ programme or any other specific identifier of the event. “Look at this video. Rahul Gandhi’s leadership is so weak that even event attendance needs to be paid for.
The caller, who identifies himself as ‘Shantanu’, is heard offering Rs 25,000, including travel expenses, for attending the event in Pune. Influencers are being offered Rs 25,000 just to attend his Pune event.
He is heard saying that the event would take place on “22nd” and that the influencer could post related content later that day or the following day. Yet, he questions EVMs whenever he loses,” it said.
The event, which will specifically focus on providing a platform for young women, is expected to attract around 8,000 to 10,000 people between 4:30 pm and 9:30 pm, news agency ANI reported.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s nationwide student outreach initiative, “Chhatron Ki Gunj”, is scheduled to be held on August 22 at the SSPMS College Ground in Pune. “Objectionable images, portraits, or banners must not be displayed during the program; additionally, if any untoward incident takes place leading to a law and order issue, the entire responsibility will lie on the organisers,” the police directive said.
