Bhopal, October 30:  Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has threatened to file a criminal defamation suit against Congress president Rahul Gandhi for making "frivolous and mala fide statements" regarding an alleged involvement of him and his family in the Vyapam scam and Panama Papers cases.

Issuing the warning to the Congress chief through a tweet on Monday night, Chouhan said that he would take criminal action for maximum damages against Gandhi."@RahulGandhi You have been making patently false allegations of Vyapam to Panama Papers against me and my family.

Tomorrow, I am filing a criminal defamation suit for maximum damages against you for frivolous and mala fide statements. Let the law take its own course now," the Chief Minister wrote on Twitter. This came after the Congress chief, while addressing a rally in Jhabua on Monday, claimed that the serving Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan's son was named in the Panama papers. Panama Papers Scandal: Pakistan Court Allows Auctioning of Former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar's Assets in Graft Case.

Launching an attack on Chouhan, the Congress supremo had said, "Shivraj Singh, also known as Mamaji, his son has been named in the Panama papers. Even a country like Pakistan punished its former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when he was named in the Panama papers. But here no action has been taken place as of now."

In August this year, the Congress chief had also targeted Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh over his son Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) Abhishek Singh's alleged involvement in Panama gate.'Panama Paper Leaks' was first reported in 2016 where reportedly 500 Indians were named in the documents of Mossack Fonseca - a Panama-based law firm known for their services in incorporating firms in offshore jurisdictions.