BJP has bought 10,000 burqas for Bhopal rally

The BJP has got 10,000 burqas stitched for its ambitious election rally in Bhopal to be addressed by Narendra Modi on Wednesday and a real estate company close to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan paid Rs 42 lakh as advance to a tailor in Indore for the order, according to AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh.

In a press conference, the senior Congress leader produced before the media the bill purportedly issued by the tailor.

"In order to purchase 10,000 burqas for the Karyakata Mahakumbh, Devendra Jain, director of the real estate company, Dilip Buildcon, had personally come to Indore and paid Rs 42 lakh in advance to Zeenat Tailors, who had given a bill of Rs 44.60 lakh," Singh told reporters here. The same number of topis could not be found here, but were ordered from Lucknow and he would put that bill before the media as well, Singh claimed.

When the Income Tax department had raided the premises of Dilip Buildcon owner Dilip Suryavanshi in June 2012, a team had raided places owned by Devendra Jain too.

The BJP has denied Singh's allegation and expressed doubt over veracity of the bill produced by him.

Questioning veracity of the charge, the chief minister said the tailor whom Digijvay has mentioned wound up his shop 10 years back.

Senior minister Kailash Vijayvargya in a hurriedly convened press meet at the party headquarters said he had urged the CM to keep a watch on activities of Digvijay.   " Every time Digvijay Singh expressed suspicion about riots in the state, riots did take place such as in Indore, and Khirkiya. Union Minister of State Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is chairman of the MP Congress poll campaign committee, said, "Shivraj Singh Chouhan talked big things at the National Integration Council meeting on Monday but the manner in which the BJP got burqas stitched has exposed the party."

BJP media in-charge for MP Deepak Vijayvargia said that the bill produced by the Congress leader could be fake.

Describing Singh as a person "who could go to any extent", Vijayvargia said there were times when the party had distanced itself from his statements.