Ambani’s notice to 11 Congress leaders over Rafale allegations
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 22
As the Reliance Group slapped legal notices on 11 Congress leaders for “vilifying” the company with their Rafale deal narrative against Reliance Defence Ltd, the Congress hit back on Wednesday saying PM Narendra Modi was “nervous” and getting back at the Opposition through his corporate friends.
“We speak on the basis of facts and as a responsible political party. Because Rafale is a monumental scam, PM Narendra Modi is anguished and using his friends to send us legal notices. We are speaking on facts and will not be deterred by such moves. Our fight against the BJP’s corruption will continue. We won’t be afraid to take on those perpetrating scams and for this we are ready to go to jail also,” Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said.
Gohil has been slapped with Rs 5,000 crore damages in a defamation notice sent to him by the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group. Gohil has received two notices. Ambani had earlier written personally to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi saying he was “misled and misinformed on Rafale”. Gandhi is yet to respond to the letter.
Meanwhile, other Congress leaders who have received legal notices of defamation from the Reliance Group are Congress media head Randeep Surjewala, Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan, AICC incharge of Bihar Shaktisinh Gohil, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, Mumbai regional Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam, Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi, former Kerala CM Oomen Chandy and leaders Anugrah Singh, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Pawan Khera besides Tripura Congress working president Pradyot Barman.
Notices naming all the above Congress leaders have been sent from Mulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe, the lawyers of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.
The cautionary cease and desist notice on behalf of Reliance Infrastructure, Relianca Defence and Reliance Aerostructure reads, “It appears that a vilification campaign is being carried out by the Congress leaders against our clients at the instance of corporate rivals to deliberately besmirch our client’s good reputation. Several leaders of the Congress have been indulging in making incorrect, false, frivolous, baseless, misleading, derogatory and defamatory statements in the press and electronic media… our clients reserve their right to take recourse to all remedies available under the law for the protection of their name.”
The notice has also gone to everyone in the six-member panel Congress chief Rahul Gandhi recently formed to take the “corruption in Rafale” narrative forward.
‘Bjp-corporate nexus’
It is a dark day for democracy. An industrialist serving legal notice on an elected representative is a serious issue… I have all the concern for the security of the country, but the Rafale deal is a serious national security issue for my party and the legal notice is the result of a nexus between the BJP and the corporate world. — Sunil Jakhar, Punjab cong chief
‘Will work vigorously’
I am a Punjabi and will rather work with more vigour. After all, taxpayers deserve to know why the Centre paid Rs 42,000 crore extra… The fact that the Congress is getting legal notices through Anil Ambani proves that something is fishy in the deal. The BJP and Reliance need to realise they cannot silence Congress voices.— Jaiveer Shergill, AICC spokesman
