Bharatiya Janata Party MP Janardan Mishra on Monday said that he should be approached with complaints of corruption only if the amount involved is more than Rs 15 lakh, ANI reported.

Mishra made the remarks in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district, while speaking at a seminar on the role of the media in dealing with current challenges. The BJP leader is an MP from the Rewa constituency.

At the seminar, the BJP leader said that many have approached him with concerns related to corruption by sarpanches.

“When people come to me complaining of corruption by sarpanches, I say to them as a joke that they should not tell me about it if the corruption is up to Rs 15 lakh,” Mishra remarked. “If the amount is more than Rs 15 lakh, then it can be considered as corruption.”

The Rewa MP said that a sarpanch would need Rs 7 lakh to win an election, and another Rs 7 lakh for the next one. “Add another Rs 1 lakh keeping in mind inflation, and that becomes Rs 15 lakh” he said. “...This is the naked reality of the society.”

The Congress criticised Mishra for his statement, saying it showed the BJP MP’s “love for corruption”.