By IANS,
Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) : Film actress-turned politician Jayaprada is the latest Samajwadi Party member to figure in a complaint to the poll panel for allegedly distributing cash ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
A complaint was filed against the actress Saturday by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging that she had offered money to devotees at a mazhar (Muslim place of worship) here. The poll violation complaint comes two days after Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav received a notice from the Election Commission for distributing money among supporters during Holi.
BJP’s national vice president and party nominee from Rampur parliamentary constituency Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi filed a complaint with the district election officer and district magistrate Laxmishankar Pandey Friday evening, alleging that Jayaprada, Samajwadi Party nominee for the seat, had violated the model code of conduct by offering money at religious places to woo Muslim votes.
To prove his contention, Naqvi referred to a TV channel showing Jayaprada offering money to devotees at Mazhar Baghdadi Shah in the city Friday.
The poll official assured Naqvi he would inquire into the matter.
Reacting to the complaint, Jayaprada said it smacked of “undignified political vendetta against a powerful rival” and no criticism could stop her from offering her respects at places of worship.
She said: “I had gone to offer my respects at the Mazhar Baghdadi on Friday where Sajjadanasheen (manager of the mazhar) presented me prasad (holy offering) and I put some money in the golak (offering box) placed there for devotees.”
Jayaprada said some TV channel reporters caught her putting money in the box and twisted it.