Union Jal Shakti Minister and senior Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has filed a defamation suit against Rajasthan CM and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot.
According to Shekhawat, the Rajasthan chief minister levelled false accusations against him over the alleged complicity in the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society scam.
Shekhawat has urged that Gehlot be charged with criminal defamation in accordance with IPC provisions. The Union minister has also asked for appropriate monetary compensation for the harm caused to his reputation.
In his criminal defamation complaint submitted before the Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi, Shekhawat claimed that “their reputation has suffered irreparable damage.”
During a media interaction, Shekhawat said CM Gehlot has been defaming him for the last three years and is deliberately attempting to affect his political career by maligning his image.
“CM Ashok Gehlot has been making defamatory remarks, trying to tarnish my image and affect my political career. For the last three years, he has been in defaming me in media, Rajya Sabha and even in public rallies,” Shekhawat said.
“In addition to attempting to ruin my reputation, they also accused my deceased mother. I have thus filed a defamation lawsuit under Section 500 of IPC against Ashok Gehlot,” Shekhawat went on to say.
Shekhwat attacked CM Gehlot, claiming that the senior Congress leader is falsely implicating him in the Sanjeevani Credit Cooperative Society scam out of frustration over the fact that he had defeated Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot from the Jodhpur constituency in the last Lok Sabha election.
Over 211 of the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society’s branches were opened in Rajasthan, and 26 in Gujarat. After that, the society defrauded nearly 2 lakh investors for a total of Rs 953 crore. As of now, the case has resulted in the arrests of Naresh Soni, Executive Officer Kishan Singh Choli, former President Devi Singh, and the main accused Vikram Singh Indra.
