App for online payments on the midst of a fierce poster battle between the governing BJP and the Congress, PhonePe has protested to the use of its name and emblem on posters attacking Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Additionally, the business threatened legal action and pleaded with the Congress to remove the ads.
The slogan on the posters is “50% laao, PhonePe kaam karao (pay 50% commission to get your work done)” and includes a QR code with the image of the Chief Minister.
Videos of these posters that appeared in Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Sehore, Rewa, Mandsaur, Ujjain, Bhind, Balaghat, Budhni, and other places were published on Twitter by the state unit of the Congress. Shivraj Chouhan is the Assemblyman who represents Budhni.
On Monday, PhonePe reacted to the posters, saying it “objected to the unauthorised usage of its brand logo by any third party, whether political or non-political.” The company added 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. PhonePe logo is a registered trademark of our company. Any unauthorized use of Intellectual Property Rights of PhonePe will invite legal action. We humbly request @INCMP to remove the posters with our brand and logo,” the company tweeted.
Narottam Mishra, the BJP leader and home minister for Madhya Pradesh, claimed that the Congress was participating in “dirty politics” after the posters were displayed in numerous places.
“Congress’s shady politics are now on display. Nothing to say following the ‘Phonepe’ tweet, he reportedly said.
The Home Minister further denied that the BJP was behind the creation or distribution of posters charging senior Congressman Kamal Nath with corruption. In contrast to Congress, the BJP practises “clean politics,” he claimed.
The public is aware that Congress is using other people’s mistakes to cover up its own malfeasance. In Burhanpur, Chhindwara, a FIR has been filed, and measures will be taken,” he said.
On June 23, the Congress leader’s posters had surfaced in the Shahpura area of Bhopal, dubbing him “corrupt Nath”, listing him as “wanted”, and linking him to a number of “scams”. These posters also featured a QR code with the message “Scam se bachne ke liye scan kare” (scan to prevent scams).
The Congress had earlier said that its posters on Shivraj Singh Chouhan were a retaliation to the posters on Kamal Nath.
