Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 13 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday called the legal notice served to him by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a “great honour,” noting that he is a political force who cannot be ignored.
Addressing a press conference, the Chief Minister slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying that it always chooses to hide behind the courts during political fights.
“I have not been issued any summons. I have received a letter from a lawyer. I consider this a great honour. I am a political force that they cannot ignore. At the same time, I think it is also symbolic of the way the BJP fights. They take political fights and hide behind the courts,” he said.
Earlier today, the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP served a legal notice to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over his claim that the party had attempted to bribe National Conference legislators with cash and ministerial berths in a bid to topple his government.
Abdullah noted that senior BJP leaders have been levelling allegations against the National Conference (NC) for the past few months, further noting that the NC will now begin to deliver such legal notices to them as well.
“For the last few months, there have been so many slanderous accusations against the National Conference and its leadership by senior BJP leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly one leader who time and again has levelled unfounded and slanderous allegations against us. Going on now, we will begin the process of sending legal notices to that particular BJP leader and a few others,” the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, the legal notice, issued by advocate Parimoksh Seth on behalf of BJP Jammu and Kashmir through its president and Rajya Sabha MP Sat Paul Sharma, termed Abdullah’s allegations “false, baseless and defamatory.”
According to the notice, Omar Abdullah, while addressing a convention in Srinagar on July 11, alleged that BJP office-bearers had approached National Conference MLAs from the Jammu region with offers of Rs 20-30 crore, a ministerial berth and restoration of statehood in exchange for joining the BJP. It also referred to his allegation that a senior BJP functionary, who is a Supreme Court lawyer, had offered bribes to NC legislators.
The legal notice states that the allegations are “entirely untrue, malicious and without any factual basis” and have harmed the BJP’s reputation.
It demanded that Abdullah withdraw the allegations in writing, issue an unconditional public apology within seven days, refrain from making or circulating any further defamatory statements against the BJP, and immediately cease repeating such allegations.
The notice further states that failure to comply would result in civil and criminal proceedings, including a defamation suit seeking damages of Rs 100 crore.
“In the event of your failure to comply with the above demands within the stipulated period, my client shall be constrained to initiate appropriate civil as well as criminal proceedings against you before the competent court, including proceedings for damages to the tune of Rs 100 Crores (Hundred crores) for defamation and filling of Criminal proceeding for defamation, and any other remedies available under law, entirely at your own risk and responsibility as to costs and consequences,” it read. (ANI)
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