Amid a fierce political slugfest over Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's allegation that the BJP was attempting to topple the National Conference (NC)-led government by offering Rs 30 crore each to some of the ruling party's MLAs, the saffron party has formally served a legal notice on him for making what it described as "false, baseless and defamatory" allegations.
The notice, issued by Advocate Parimoksh Seth of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on behalf of Jammu and Kashmir BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Sat Paul Sharma, demands a written withdrawal of the allegations and an unconditional public apology within seven days.
According to the notice, Abdullah had alleged that a BJP office-bearer had approached National Conference MLAs from the Jammu region with offers ranging between Rs 20 crore and Rs 30 crore, along with a ministerial berth and restoration of statehood, as inducements to switch sides. The chief minister had further alleged that a senior BJP functionary, who is also a lawyer practising in the Supreme Court, had offered bribes to NC legislators.
The BJP stated that the allegations were widely reported across print, electronic and social media platforms and were "entirely untrue, malicious and without any factual basis".
"The said statement issued by you has seriously harmed my client's reputation, dignity and standing in society and has caused immense damage to the image of my client in public," the notice reads.
The notice states that such actions amount to defamation and are actionable under both civil and criminal law. It warns that failure to comply would compel the BJP to initiate appropriate legal proceedings, including a civil suit seeking damages of Rs 100 crore for defamation, besides criminal proceedings.
The notice also calls upon Abdullah to immediately "cease and desist from making or repeating any false or defamatory statements against my client" and refrain from publishing any further defamatory material.
The BJP further highlighted in the notice that it is the "largest political party in the world" with over 14 crore registered members and is working to make India a global power under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
BJP earlier asked Omar to tender an unconditional apology
As reported earlier, BJP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Sunday termed Omar Abdullah's allegations "irresponsible and baseless".
He demanded that the chief minister either produce concrete evidence to substantiate his claims or issue a public apology.
Trivedi alleged that Omar Abdullah was making unsubstantiated allegations to divert attention from the failures and alleged misgovernance of his own government.
"Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has made a highly irresponsible and condemnable statement by making the baseless allegation that the BJP is attempting to poach MLAs from his party. The BJP's J&K unit has strongly condemned this statement and has directly asked him to either provide evidence or apologise," Trivedi said.
As reported earlier, a major political controversy erupted in Jammu and Kashmir after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah alleged that the BJP was attempting to topple the National Conference-led government by offering Rs 30 crore each to some of the ruling party's MLAs, triggering sharp reactions from both the opposition and the ruling alliance.
The BJP strongly denied the allegations, with Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma asserting that several NC legislators were themselves willing to join the saffron party without any inducement.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary rallied behind the chief minister, accusing the BJP of trying to destabilise a democratically elected government. Adding another dimension to the controversy, NC MLA Abdul Majeed Larmi claimed that he had been approached on multiple occasions to quit the party.
