Dismissed BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav with supporters in Varanasi, Monday, April 29, 2019. (PTI Photo) Dismissed BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav with supporters in Varanasi, Monday, April 29, 2019. (PTI Photo)

The BJP on Monday expressed shock over a video in which Tej Bahadur Yadav, the dismissed BSF constable whose nomination as the SP’s Varanasi candidate was rejected by Election Commission (EC) last week, is purportedly heard asking for Rs 50 crore to allegedly assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When contacted, Tej Bahadur admitted that he is the man in the video but claimed that the clip was doctored as he never spoke of any conspiracy to assassinate the Prime Minister. He said the video was shot by a Delhi Police constable in 2017 when he was staging a dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi after his dismissal from the BSF.

Lok Sabha Elections 2019 | Polling schedule, results date, constituency-wise results, how to check live counting

BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said Maharashtra Police had last year unearthed a conspiracy by “urban Naxals” to kill PM Modi. “It is very shocking that yet another conspiracy to assassinate the Prime Minister has come to light by someone who was drafted as a Lok Sabha candidate against the PM in Varanasi by the Samajwadi Party… Tej Bahadur Yadav is heard asking for Rs 50 crore to assassinate Modi,” Rao alleged. Rao said all democratically-spirited individuals and parties should condemn such violent plans.

Tej Bahadur said, “I have seen that video. This video was shot in 2017 without my knowledge. I had spoken to that person on several issues related to soldiers. But I never spoke about any plot of assassination of Prime Minister. The video is doctored.”

He alleged that the constable shot the video after he denied his offer to get involved in financial irregularities through Fauzi Ekta Nyay Kalyan Manch — a trust he formed in 2017. Tej Bahadur said the constable has made 30 such doctored videos. “He approached me two weeks ago demanding Rs 50 lakh. He threatened to circulate the videos. I refused to give him money.”

Tej Bahadur Yadav moves SC against EC decision

Former BSF man Tej Bahadur Yadav, whose nomination from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat was rejected by the Election Commission, moved the Supreme Court on Monday challenging the poll panel’s decision. The SP had fielded Yadav, who was dismissed from the BSF in 2017 after he posted a video about food served to the troops, as its candidate from Varanasi, where PM Narendra Modi is the BJP candidate.

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