Will Take Legal Action: PhonePe Warns Congress Over Objectionable Posters of CM in MP

In the midst of a war of posters between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress in the poll-bound state of Madhya Pradesh, the Congress party plastered posters across Bhopal accusing Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of corruption. The posters featured a QR code with Chouhan's face and the text "50% laao, PhonePe kaam karao (pay 50% commission to get your work done)".

PhonePe, a digital payments company, objected to the use of its logo in the posters.

In a statement on Twitter, the company said,"We strongly object to the unauthorized use of our brand logo by any third party, whether political or non-political. Such misuse is unacceptable to us. We urge the Congress party to immediately remove the PhonePe logo from their posters."

PhonePe also said that any unauthorized use of its logo would invite "legal action" and asked the Congress party to remove the posters with its brand and logo. "Any unauthorized use of our logo will invite legal action. We request the Congress party to respect our intellectual property rights and cease the usage of our brand logo in their promotional materials," it said.

The Congress party has not yet responded to PhonePe's objection.

The use of PhonePe's logo in the posters is a clear attempt by the Congress party to associate the company with Chouhan's alleged corruption. However, PhonePe has made it clear that it does not endorse the posters and that it will take legal action if the company's logo is not removed.

Meanwhile, Police have registered a case against unidentified persons in connection with objectionable posters of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan which have surfaced in Gwalior. Following a complaint regarding the objectionable posters of the CM, a case was registered under relevant Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections at the Padao police station, said Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajesh Singh Chandel.

The accused in the FIR (first information report) have not been identified and further investigation was underway, he said.