Bhopal/New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) Disqualified former Madhya Pradesh Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti on Monday launched a sharp attack on senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including former State Home Minister and his political opponent Narottam Mishra and Vishvas Sarang of conspiring against him after his conviction in a long-pending bank fraud case.

Speaking to the media at Congress office in Bhopal for the first time after the court judgment, Bharti said, “This entire case was pre-planned and politically motivated. An effort was made to trap me through a conspiracy.”

He also alleged that Mishra misused his influence, adding, “The prosecution was misled and the case was manipulated in collusion with the bank’s counsel to ensure my conviction.”

Bharti expressed confidence in the judiciary, saying, “I have full faith in the court and I am hopeful that justice will be delivered.”

He also made serious allegations against Mishra, claiming, “Crores of rupees of black money have been converted into white through temple construction. He spares neither people nor even God.”

Criticising the former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister further, Bharti said, “There is no respect for the people’s mandate.”

He was referring about the large size ‘Navagrah Shakti Peeth’ temple constructed by former Minister Narrottam Mishra in his home district Datia recently.

Targeting Madhya Pradesh’s Sports Minister Vishvas Sarang, the former Congress MLA said that false allegations were made against his mother and warned of a defamation case.

“We will file a defamation case against Minister Vishvas Sarang,” Bharti added.

The Delhi High Court is scheduled to hear Bharti’s plea for challenging his conviction and three-year jail sentence in a Rural Development Bank fraud case. He is accused of forging records to obtain illegal interest payments between 1998 and 2011.

In the previous hearing on April 7, the Delhi High Court had issued notices to the prosecution, the Madhya Pradesh government, and the Election Commission of India (ECI) and had fixed the hearing on April 15.

In his petition, Bharti has sought a stay on both his conviction and jail sentence.

He has also urged the court to direct the ECI not to announce election dates for the Datia Assembly constituency, which fell vacant following his disqualification.

The court, however, has not stayed the election process so far.

Bharti was convicted on April 1 by a Special MP-MLA court in New Delhi under charges, including criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery. He was sentenced to three years in jail and fined Rs 1 lakh.

The court granted the former Congress legislator bail for 60 days to allow him to appeal.

Following the conviction, Bharti was disqualified as an MLA, triggering the possibility of a bypoll in Datia.

Bharti was elected as a MLA from Datia Assembly seat against senior BJP leader and five-time former Minister Narottam Mishra by a margin of nearly 8,000 votes in 2023.

–IANS

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