BJP MP Shankar Lalwani on Sunday came down hard on Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, saying leaders like herself should avoid making claims on social media that are short on facts or substance.

The BJP leader’s remarks came in response to an FIR registered against the Congress general secretary, former chief minister Kamal Nath and former Union Minister Arun Yadav over a social media post accusing the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh of ‘corruption’.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Congress leader tagged a news clip containing a letter, which alleged corruption by the Madhya Pradesh government.

“Sharing the letter on their official handles was objectionable and against public interest. This is why they were named in the FIR registered here in Indore. I believe prominent leaders shouldn’t put out such tweets from their official handles without checking and ascertaining facts. This is wrong,” the BJP MP said on Sunday.

“Yesterday (Saturday), an FIR was registered under IPC sections 469, 500, and 501. The complaint had reference to a letter written by a Gyanendra Awasthi. It has not been determined yet if this person exists for real or is a fictitious entity. Besides him, Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi, Kamal Nath, Arun Yadav, Jairam Ramesh, and Shobha Ojha were also named in the complaint on which the FIR was filed. The Congress leaders were named as they had shared this letter on their official handles. While the sections on which the FIR was filed are bailable, they (Congress leaders and Gyanendra Awasthi) will be served notices and summoned for questioning. The matter will be investigated at all levels. They (the Congress leaders) will be asked why they didn’t ascertain the identity of this person before sharing his letter,” DCP, Crime Branch, Shrut Kirti Somwanshi, said earlier on Sunday.

“Earlier, a Prime Minister in the previous Congress government (at the Centre) would say of every one rupee that he sent, only 20 paise would reach the people it was desired for. Today, at just a click of a mouse, the government, under the leadership of PM Modi, sends crores directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries and every single penny is accounted for. Hence, it is regrettable to point fingers at our government (in MP) without checking facts,” Lalwani added.

Earlier, on Friday, Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi alleged that a union of contractors from Madhya Pradesh wrote to the Chief Justice of the High Court, claiming that their pending payments are released only on the payment of 50 per cent commission.