RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, April 24: Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Rajesh Thakur has taken serious note to the video clip showing Jharkhand health minister Banna Gupta engaged in video chat with a woman but finds himself in a catch-22 situation on the matter of giving his statement in the matter.
A party insider said he is in contact with senior party leaders in Delhi to decide further line of action in the matter and ensure what statement should come from his side.
Thakur replied in the matter when contacted for his comment saying that ‘it was difficult to say anything specific in the matter until proper probe at party level gets completed.’
Party insiders, however, said Thakur is worried after the video clip became viral on social media. “He made several attempts to contact Gupta but failed. Apart from this he is also facing trouble in contacting Congress party legislature chief Alamgir Alam, who is out of station,” the insider said.
A senior party worker said: “Thakur is in a wait and watch situation as Gupta has filed an FIR in Jamshedpur after the video clip went viral. The state minister has alleged that the video was edited in such a way that it appears that he is engaged in video chat with a woman talking vulgarly. According to him, it is a defamation attempt. Thakur wants to wait for police investigation in the matter,” the insider said.
As the Congress state president is in a wait and watch situation, arch rival of minister Gupta, Saryu Roy, through his tweet threatened to circulate the entire video.
‘This is just a tableau; the full picture is yet to come. This one episode can be followed by multiple segment episodes in the queue’ Roy’s tweet reads.
The video was tweeted by Godda MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday with a message reading, “This is the character of @INCIndia, this is the so-called matter of Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta. Playing with respect for women, Congress worker Sushil Sharma burning his wife in an oven, I wish the Gandhi family could understand, if this is true it is a matter of dying for the Congress,” the tweet read.
After the statement did not come from Congress and minister Gupta registered an FIR, Dubey again tweeted, “Congress party and JMM are trying to hide this misdeed of Banna Gupta and twist things, so they should die of shame. Respect for women, indecent remarks and controversial statements is the culture of Congress.”
