Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath on Monday said the level of corruption was such under BJP rule in the state that even people owning 50 acres of land can get themselves into the 'below poverty line' (BPL) list by paying bribes.

Dubbing Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as 'thagraj" (king of cheats), Nath alleged the latter had deceived the people of the state in his 18-year rule.

"A system of corruption has been created in the state. Give money and get work done. Yesterday, I was in Raisen and Vidisha. I was told corruption has reached to such an extent that even if a person owns 50 acres of land, he can get his name added in the below poverty line (BPL) list by paying money,” Nath said.

He was speaking at a gathering to mark filing of nominations by Congress candidates from nine Assembly seats in Indore district.

"Be it education, health or investment, they (BJP government) have ruined everything. They have made Madhya Pradesh 'chaupat' (rundown/tattered) state. There are about one crore unemployed youths in the state," he said, adding Chouhan was only making false announcements.

Addressing the gathering, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, without mentioning the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, said the Bharatiya Janata Party was spreading lies that Nath was involved in atrocities against the community.

"No FIR has been registered against Kamal Nath, but BJP has started fearing him. That's why they send sardars (Sikhs) from Delhi who spread false propaganda that he had committed atrocities (on Sikhs)," the Punjab Congress chief said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.