After Delhi BJP chief Vijendra Gupta alleged that the party hoardings were removed at the behest of chief minister Sheila Dikshit, he was served a legal notice for defamation. Mr Gupta on his part shot off letters to the Delhi police commissioner and lieutenant-governor asking for registration of FIR against the culprits behind “illegal” removal of the hoardings.
Mr Gupta has charged in his letters that the party’s hoardings were removed at the behest of Ms Dikshit.
“It is a matter of great concern that how the chief minister is misusing the official machinery and directing the DTC officials for removal of BJP hoardings. A direction for registration of an FIR be given immediately against the culprits,” Mr Gupta wrote in the letters.
Meanwhile, the chief minister in a statement issued to the media stated that she had sent a legal notice on Sunday to Mr Gupta for committing defamation “for conspiring to malign her reputation and image”.
“Ms Dikshit is held in high esteem by the people of Delhi because of her untiring efforts to make the city a better place to live as well as setting high standards of integrity and moral conduct,” the chief minister’s office said in the statement.
Ms Dikshit has asked the Delhi BJP chief in the notice, which was sent by her advocate Mehmood Pracha, to tender an “unconditional public apology within three days”.
“Mr Gupta has also been asked to withdraw all false allegations and derogatory statements made by him in various advertisements, failing which he would face strict legal action,” the chief minister’s office said.
On the issue of the removal of BJP hoardings, the chief minister’s office put the blame on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), as it added that the “huge hoardings put up at various prominent locations violated the outdoor advertisement policy approved by the Supreme Court”.
“The MCD ruled by BJP later swung into action after realising the clear violation of the Supreme Court-approved policy on advertisements and decided to remove them,” the chief minister’s office added.
As per the legal notice, “the allegations and actions of Mr Gupta and other conspirators constitute a penal offence under the provisions of Indian Penal Code and are also actionable under the civil laws,” the chief minister’s office added.