AAP MP Sanjay Singh tears defamation notice sent by Delhi lieutenant governor
The LG had sent defamation notices to several Aam Aadmi Party leaders after they had accused him of being involved in a Rs 1,400-crore scam.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh on Wednesday publicly tore a defamation notice sent to him by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena over alleged irregularities linked to the Khadi and Village Industries Commission.
“The Constitution of India gives me the right to speak the truth,” Singh said while tearing the notice at a press meet. “As a member of the Rajya Sabha, I have the right to speak the truth. I will not be cowed down by this notice sent by a thief, a corrupt man. I can tear and throw away such notices ten times.”
Saxena had sent defamation notices to several leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday after they had accused him of being involved in a Rs 1,400-crore scam during his term as the chairperson of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission in 2016.
The notices were sent to Aam Aadmi Party leaders Atishi, Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Jasmine Shah, Durgesh Pathak and others.
The Aam Aadmi Party claims Saxena had asked two cashiers working at the commission to exchange his old unaccounted banknotes when they were devalued in November 2016 during the demonetisation exercise. The party leaders alleged that he told the cashiers to claim that the unaccounted notes belonged to the commission.
Aam Aadmi Party leaders also alleged that Saxena had awarded an interior designing contract for a Khadi Lounge in Mumbai to his daughter. The Delhi lieutenant governor has denied the allegations.
The defamation notices are the latest in a series of allegations that the Aam Aadmi Party and Saxena have made against each other ever since the latter ordered an enquiry against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the city’s new excise policy.
Leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party accuse Saxena of carrying out “political vendetta” against their government at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government.
On Wednesday, Singh demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation or the Enforcement Directorate against Saxena.
“The L-G [Saxena] looted 2,50,000 khadi workers of their money,” Singh said. “When we uncovered the corruption, he sends a legal notice. There should be a CBI-ED investigation against him to find out where the looted money is kept.”