The 70-year-old filed a complaint against the party after seeing its advertisements depicting him as an insolvent farmer whose land was up for auction.
A 70-year-old man has accused the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of abusing his photo for its electoral campaign in poll-bound Rajasthan, and has filed a case against the party for presenting him as an indebted farmer whose land was auctioned.
Madhuram Jaipal, a resident of Ramdevra in the Jaisalmer district, filed a complaint against the BJP, stating that the party defamed him. “People are asking me and my family questions. That is why I went the police in search of justice,” Jaipal explained. He also stated that neither his farm nor he was indebted. He also stated that he comes from a farming family and owns approximately 200 bighas of land.
The BJP claimed that lands of over 19000 farmers in the state had been auctioned off as part of its electoral campaign dubbed “Nahi Sahega Rajasthan (Rajasthan would not tolerate)” with Jaipal’s photo.
According to Khammaram Bishnoi, a local police officer, a case under Indian Penal Code section 500 (defamation) was filed at Ramdevra police station based on Jaipal’s allegation.
“Jaipal claimed the BJP misappropriated his image in posters in Jodhpur and Jaipur.” “He claimed the BJP defamed him and demanded action,” Bishnoi added. He went on to say that they had filed a complaint and were taking action. According to Bishnoi, Jaipal was obliged to file the complaint after BJP leaders refused to remove the posters.
Jaipal met with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday to request action. Gehlot, who assured him that all of the posters would be removed, posted a video on social media of his meeting with Jaipal.