Comments
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has threatened to sue Narendra Modi for ₹100 crore if the Prime Minister does not immediately apologise for the alleged defamatory comments against the Congress leader.
In his notices, Siddaramaiah has sought immediate ‘unconditional public apology’ from the Prime Minister and others through electronic, print and social media, failing which they would face legal action.
Modi is alleged to have claimed that while the Congress government talks of the ease of doing business, what it actually did was facilitate the “ease of doing murders”. Modi is also said to have referred to a costly watch that Siddaramaiah wears, claiming that it was actually a “kickback”.
The notices, sent through his lawyer and Congress legislator VS Ugrappa, Siddaramaiah said all the parties mentioned in the notice had jointly and severally committed libel and offences punishable under various IPC sections.
“You are called upon to cease and desist from making such statements forthwith and give an unconditional public apology immediately through electronic, print and social media in which the statements and advertisements have appeared,” Ugrappa said in the notice released to the media.
“In the event [that] you fail to do so, please note that you have rendered yourself liable to civil and criminal action and payment of exemplary damages of ₹100 crore,” it said.
Ugrappa said his client (Siddaramaiah), whose political career spanned 50 years, has always maintained personal and political integrity and honesty.
“Any imputation of irregular dealings and dishonesty not only affects my client’s reputation in the eyes of public and his peers but also adversely affects his party, viz the Indian National Congress,” the notice said.
It said false and defamatory statements had been made against Siddaramaiah “intentionally and maliciously”.
Ugrappa said the advertisements published by the BJP in various newspapers and aired by news channels besides displayed on LED screens and shared in social media were false and defamatory.
He cited instances of the “objectionable” content in advertisements.
Congress moves EC
Further stepping up attack on Modi, the party also lodged a complaint against him with the Election Commission of India, saying he had violated the model code of conduct by making a promise to resolve the Mahadayi river water-sharing issue with neighbouring Goa.
The party quoted Modi as saying, “The Union government is ready to talk to the riparian states and resolve the Mahadayi water sharing issue amicably.”
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.