NEW DELHI: Karnataka Chief Minister
Siddaramaiah today sent a legal notice for criminal and civil defamation to BJP, including
Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
Amit Shah
+ and Yeddyurappa over
allegations of corruption
+ levelled against the Congress leader.
In the notice, Siddaramaiah's lawyer cited instances of political advertisements published by the BJP and speeches delivered by PM Modi during election rallies and accused the saffron party of promoting a "false" and "defamatory" propaganda against his client.
The notice contained excerpts and phrases from PM Modi's speeches delivered during the election rallies and said that the PM has intentionally and unabatedly made several "defamatory" and "untrue" statements against the Karnataka chief minister.
"Advertisements are being published only for the purpose of harming the image of my client and the Indian National Congress Party," the notice read.
Siddaramaiah's counsel said that the allegations against his client are "false", "fabricated", and "politically motivated".
Yesterday, the BJP had accused the Karnataka chief minister of 'aiding, abetting, protecting and promoting' the cheating of private investors in an alleged Ponzi scheme run by a company.
Party spokesperson Sambit Patra had said that the saffron party will be filing a complaint with the governor to sanction the prosecution of Siddaramaiah for dealing with the company.
"The company is declared as a threat to national security by the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO)," Patra alleged.
The BJP also sought to know whether Siddaramaiah received the costly Hublot watch for 'facilitating' the company, QI Group of Companies, headed by Vijay Eswaran, to operate in the state.
Embroiled in a controversy over the diamond-studded Hublot watch in March 2016, Siddaramaiah had handed it over to the Assembly speaker, asking him to make it a state asset.
