Being out of favour in his party after a series of electoral debacle in his home State, former Congress strongman of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh seemed to have softened his political approach.
On Saturday, he regretted his statements issued against former HP Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in the decade old defamation case.
After Capt Amarinder recorded regret for his statement issued against Dhumal and his Government in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Jyotsana Dadwal at Shimla, the former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister withdrew his decade old criminal defamation case against him. Singh who appeared in the court, blamed media for misquoting his speech and expressed regret for causing hurt to Dhumal. He said former HP chief minister Dhumal and I had always shared cordial relationship with each other.
“In the course of my speech in Hamirpur on January 18, 2003, I did not attack Prem Kumar Dhumal personally, though I had criticised his Government” said Amarinder Singh in the court of CJM. Singh also put the onus of misquoting him on the media. “Unfortunately, the speech was incorrectly reported in some of newspapers.
I did not level any personal allegation against Dhumal,” said Singh adding that “allegations against Dhumal attributed to me in some of the newspapers are unfounded and have not been made by me,” he added. “I regret the hurt caused to Prem Kumar Dhumal by incorrect reporting in the press,” he said. Singh said that there was some confusion created by media. “We both sat down together and decided not to continue the case,” said Singh, after coming out of the court and accompanied by his counsel RS Cheema.
On June 18, 2003, Congress leaders, including Amarinder Singh, then AICC general secretary Motilal Vora and spokesperson Anand Sharma in a public rally at Hamirpur had issued statements against Dhumal and his relatives for amassing huge properties, while being CM. On January 25, 2003, Dhumal had served legal notices on Vora, Sharma and Singh. Dhumal had asked two Congress leaders to tender unqualified apologies within 48 hours of the receipt of the notices. Both Sharma and Vora had also released a list of the properties allegedly owned by Dhumal and his relatives.
Dhumal in his petition had alleged that during election meeting in his home town on January 18, 2003 Amarinder Singh levelled allegations regarding the properties owned by him and his relatives. Dhumal at that time had denied the charges saying that on the day he was appointed chief minister (April 5, 1998), he had submitted a detailed list of properties and assets owned by him and his family members to the Speaker of the HP Assembly.
“Following the regret expressed by Amarinder Singh, I am withdrawing the case against him but will keep pursuing the case against Anand Sharma and Motilal Vohra,” said Dhumal, who appeared in the court along with his counsel Satya Pal Jain. The court has fixed the next date of hearing on September 28.