PhonePe warns Congress of legal action over 'corruption' posters featuring CM Shivraj Chouhan

Payments app PhonePe has warned the Congress of legal action for using its name and logo in posters to target Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The company has urged the party to take down the posters. The warning comes after the Congress put up a poster alleging corruption by the chief minister in the state. "50% laao, PhonePe kaam karao (pay 50% commission to get your work done)," the posters, featuring a QR code with the Chief Minister's face, said.

The Madhya Pradesh Congress shared videos of these posters that emerged in Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Sehore, Rewa, Mandsaur, Ujjain, Bhind, Balaghat, Budhni, and some other cities. Budhni is the home constituency of Shivraj Chouhan.

PhonePe, however, objected to the "unauthorised usage of its brand logo by any third party, whether political or non-political." The company said that any unauthorised use of the logo would invite "legal action", and urged Congress to remove the posters.

"PhonePe objects to the unauthorized use of its brand logo by any third party, whether political or non-political. We are not affiliated with any political campaign or party," the company said in a tweet. "PhonePe logo is a registered trademark of our company. Any unauthorized use of the Intellectual Property Rights of PhonePe will invite legal action. We humbly request @INCMP to remove the posters with our brand and logo."

Reacting to the allegations, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that the Congress was engaging in "dirty politics" after the posters were plastered across several cities. "The dirty politics of Congress has come to the fore. Nothing to say after the 'Phonepe' tweet," he said while speaking to the news agency ANI.

Gwalior SP Rajesh Singh Chandel said a case has been registered against an unknown person and an investigation is underway.

Earlier, Congress leader and former chief minister Kamal Nath's posters had surfaced in the Shahpura area of Bhopal, dubbing him "corrupt Nath". Nath was linked with a number of "scams" and the posters, which also featured a QR code, said: "Scam se bachne ke liye scan kare" (scan to prevent scams)."

The state Home Minister denied the BJP's involvement in making or sharing those posters. He said his party engages in clean politics and "does not do dirty tricks like Congress". "The public knows that you [Congress] are blaming others to hide your corruption. FIR has been registered in Burhanpur, Chhindwara, and will take action against it," he said.