Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, through his lawyer, has sent a defamation notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleged derogatory remarks made against him at a public rally on May 15, held at Diamond Harbour in West Bengal.
According to the notice, the sitting Member of Parliament from Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, Abhishek, has sought an unconditional apology within 36 hours from PM Modi, failing which he would initiate appropriate proceedings.
Referring to PM Modi’s May 15 rally, which took place in the constituency, the legal notice, served by Abhishek’s lawyer, said, “The malice with which you chose to invoke certain unverified, sensationalist and patently inaccurate information, ostensibly at the behest of your party members, even while knowing such information to be incorrect, has compelled my client to address you vide this letter.
“Your speech, punctuated by false, malicious, and defamatory content, was an embodiment of political calculation and mischievous intent.”
The TMC and the BJP indulged in a bitter war-of-words following the violent clashes between the BJP and TMC supporters on Tuesday, May 14 on the streets of Kolkata during a massive roadshow by BJP chief Amit Shah.
PM Modi’s rally at Diamond Harbour had come a day after the clashes in Kolkata in which a statue of social reformer Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar was vandalized. The Election Commission had to invoke Article 324 to prohibit poll campaigning in nine constituencies of Bengal.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee has written to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, stating, “Ensure that Lok Sabha election in the state is completed peacefully, impartially and without any undue interference of the central government and without any intervention by the ruling party at the centre.”
(With IANS inputs)