On Tuesday, May 28, the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court summoned Delhi Education Minister Atishi in a defamation case filed by Delhi BJP Media head Praveen Shankar Kapoor. The case concerns Atishi’s allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was attempting to poach Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs. Atishi has been summoned to appear in court on June 29.
Kapoor’s defamation complaint claims that Atishi made “false, fabricated, and manipulated statements” with the intent to damage the reputation of the BJP and its members. The complaint asserts, “By such kind of malicious/scandalous statements, you and your colleagues defame BJP and its members and try to gain political mileage by using the platform of press conferences to make such false statements, knowing fully well that all social media platforms would carry such news as you are not only an MLA but a Minister in the government of NCT of Delhi.”
Atishi had previously been served a notice by the Election Commission of India (ECI) following her claims that she was approached and bribed by a BJP leader to join the party. This occurred after the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case related to the excise policy case.
Atishi stated, “I have been told that soon there will be ED raids at our residence and then we will be taken into custody. The BJP is now targeting the next line of leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party.” She also claimed that she would be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) if she refused to join the BJP.
The ECI notice addressed to Atishi read, “You are a minister in the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and leader of a national party. The electors tend to believe whatever is being said from a public forum by their leaders, and in that sense, the statements made by them affect the campaign discourse… it is expected that there must be a factual foundation to the above-quoted statements made by you, and when the veracity of the statements made by you is contested, then you must be able to back your statements by a factual basis. Whereas the matter is being examined by the Commission in light of the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct and relevant electoral laws.”
The BJP has demanded a public apology for Atishi’s allegations. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva stated, “The AAP is facing a crisis in Delhi, which is why they are making such baseless allegations out of frustration. But we will not let her get away with this.”
BJP leader RP Singh added, “I too can make such baseless allegations. I too can say that Saurabh Bharadwaj called me up and requested me to protect them from Arvind Kejriwal, who wants to put them behind bars and make Sunita Kejriwal the CM.”
