Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. (File Photo)
Days after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor sent a legal notice to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for stating in the media that he is an “accused in a case of murder”, the latter has responded to the notice, saying “there arises no question of any apology or deleting of the tweet”.
Prasad said in his reply to the legal notice through his lawyer Bharat Sood, “…there arises no question of any apology or deleting the tweet and taking down and removing the video…on contrary, you are requested to withdraw the lawyer notice sent by you within 48 hours and apologise for the inconvenience caused by you… by sending of this mischievous and misconceived lawyer notice.”
The remarks from Prasad had come after Tharoor quoted an unnamed RSS source as saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was like a “scorpion sitting on a Shivling who cannot be removed by hand or hit with a chappal.” Prasad had told the media and also tweeted, “Tharoor who is accused in a murder case has attempted to disrespect Lord Shiva”.
Following the remark, Tharoor tweeted, “My legal notice @rsprasad about his false malicious & defamatory statements against me, which he has still not retracted. When India’s law minister falsely invents a murder case against a political opponent, what hope for justice and democracy.”
In his reply, Prasad has now told Tharoor that he has “maliciously sought to defame the Prime Minister and hurt the religious sentiments of the devotees of Lord Shiva.”
On his remark that Tharoor is an “accused in a murder”, Prasad said, “..the trial in case of death of Sunanda Pushkar is ongoing and one cannot predict the outcome of the trial. Therefore, your allegation that my client allegedly defamed your client by posting the tweet..It is stated that your client was and is accused in relation to death of Pushkar.”