Congress MP from Faridabad files defamation case against Arvind Kejriwal

“The defendant (Kejriwal) who himself is an elected representative of Delhi has chosen to name him (Bhadana) on January 31, 2014 as one of most corrupt persons of India in his public statement, causing serious damage to plaintiff’s reputation among his electorates, peers and supporters throughout India with a view to take electoral advantage in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2014,” the petition says.

According to advocate Surat Singh, the MP had sent a legal notice to Kejriwal last week, seeking a written apology for the statement.

“The people of Delhi had elected you for Swaraj but you have degenerated into gaali raj,” claims the plea, adding that the AAP leader had made “false and baseless allegations against respected leaders of various political parties, business houses and business institutions”.

The petition also seeks a permanent injunction against Kejriwal restraining him from making any further allegations against the Congress MP before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

On January 31, in a statement made to the press, Kejriwal had said that the AAP had drawn up a list of “dishonest politicians of the country” and would definitely field candidates against them in the upcoming Parliamentary elections. Following his statement, a number of politicians who had been named in the “list” had threatened legal action, with Bhadana and BJP leader Ananth Kumar sending legal notices to Kejriwal.

BJP’s Nitin Gadkari had also threatened legal action against Kejriwal, while Law Minister Kapil Sibal and Shipping Minister G K Vasan had challenged the “list”.