TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee sends legal notice to Suvendu Adhikari, seeks apology over remarks

Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has sent a legal notice to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari for making "defamatory statements" against him.

The notice said that if an apology is not tendered in 36 hours, legal proceedings will be initiated.

The notice sent by Kolkata-based advocate Sanjay Basu on behalf of Abhishek Banerjee said that at a public meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held on January 19, 2021 at Khejuri, West Bengal attended by members of the general public and in an interview to a news channel telecast the same day, Adhikari had made "vile, uncouth, vulgar, false, malicious, and defamatory statements against my client".

"Both were published and circulated over media of various forms. The defamatory statements have been made in an undisguised attempt to tarnish and besmirch my client's goodwill and reputation amongst the members of the general public.....However, the statements are baseless, distasteful, with malicious falsehoods, and unsupported by an iota of evidence," it added.

The notice said that by words and insinuations Adhikari has sought to "falsely accuse Abhishek Banerjee of being a 'tola baaj' or an `extortionist' who seeks and makes illegal gains at the expense of the people of West Bengal".

It said that such statements have been made without any semblance of truth. "Your action is nothing but an attempt to drown the truth about you by using cacophonous lies. You have damaged my client's impeccable reputation by spreading falsehoods," the notice said.

Adhikari had left Trinamool Congress and joined BJP last month.

( With inputs from ANI )