State Congress filed defamation case against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Madhya Pradesh president and MP Nandkumar Singh Chouhan. Chief Minister Chouhan had allegedly said in an election rally that ‘Congress’ hand is with the terrorists.
MP Congress Committee (MPCC) on Monday filed a criminal defamation case against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chouhan in a local court for the chief minister's statement linking the Congress with the alleged Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) operatives, who were killed by police in an encounter in November, 2016.
The petition has been filed by MPCC chief spokesperson KK Mishra on behalf of Congress party in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Bhu Bhaskar Yadav and the next date for hearing has been fixed for March 1.
Mishra while talking to The Pioneer said that CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said during a poll rally in Shahdol where by-elections to the lok Sabha seat were being held in November last year that the Congress was with the SIMI operatives. The chief minister during a rally had allegedly said, ‘Congress ka haath, aatankwadiyon ke saath’ (Congress’s hand is with the terrorists).
Mishra further said that the Congress party authorized me to take legal action against the chief minister for defaming the party. In the process the Chief Minister was first asked to tender an unconditional apology for his remarks through a notice failing that the party had warned him that a defamation case would be filed.
Since the chief minister did not apologise for his remarks, a case has been filed, he added.
Senior counsel Vijay Chaudhry appeared for the Congress party in the court. Incidentally, both KK Mishra and the CM have filed a number of defamation cases against each other in the
past.