The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP on Monday served a legal notice to chief minister Omar Abdullah following his public claims that the party attempted to bribe National Conference (NC) legislators.
Speaking at an NC convention at Hazratbal in Srinagar on July 11, Abdullah alleged that the BJP was actively trying to engineer a split to bring down his government. He specifically claimed that an NC MLA from the Jammu region was approached by a senior BJP office-bearer—who is also a practising Supreme Court lawyer—and offered ₹20 crore to ₹30 crore, a ministerial berth, and the restoration of statehood in exchange for switching allegiance to the saffron party.
Rejecting the poaching claims as “false, baseless, and entirely untrue,” the BJP issued the legal notice through advocate Parimoksh Seth, acting on the instructions of J&K BJP president and Rajya Sabha member Satpal Sharma. Sent via email and speed post, the three-page notice says that Abdullah’s “malicious remarks have tarnished the reputation of the world’s largest political party.”
The BJP has given the chief minister a seven-day deadline to withdraw his statements in writing, issue an unconditional public apology, and cease circulating further defamatory material. Advancing precedents of other political figures, the BJP’s counsel noted that leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had previously been forced to issue court apologies after making unsubstantiated claims. If Abdullah fails to comply within the stipulated period, the BJP has warned it will initiate civil and criminal defamation proceedings, including a suit seeking damages to the tune of ₹100 crore.
{{/usCountry}}The BJP has given the chief minister a seven-day deadline to withdraw his statements in writing, issue an unconditional public apology, and cease circulating further defamatory material. Advancing precedents of other political figures, the BJP’s counsel noted that leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had previously been forced to issue court apologies after making unsubstantiated claims. If Abdullah fails to comply within the stipulated period, the BJP has warned it will initiate civil and criminal defamation proceedings, including a suit seeking damages to the tune of ₹100 crore.
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to the development, Omar told reporters at the National Conference headquarters, Nawa-e-Subha, that the move was a matter of happiness for him. “I consider it a great honour,” he said. “I have received a letter from a lawyer, not a legal notice. It shows I am a political force they cannot ignore.”