Issue unconditional apology within 72 hrs: TMC sends legal notice to Amit Shah

Kolkata: Trinamool Youth Congress president Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Monday sent a legal notice to BJP president Amit Shah alleging defamatory statements against him at a public rally on August 11 in Kolkata.

The legal notice demanding an apology from Shah for allegedly making defamatory statements against Abhishek Banerjee, a Lok Sabha MP, was sent to the state BJP headquarter his lawyer Sanjay Basu said.

Basu asked Shah to "issue an unconditional apology in an appropriate press conference within 72 hours from receipt of the instant notice retracting the virulent and mala-fide statements made against my client."

The notice to Shah said, "In the course of your speech you had made various allegations against my client by making a flimsy and thinly veiled reference and/or insinuation to the "bhatija" (nephew) of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of the State of West Bengal.”

"Since, it is well known that my client is the nephew of Smt. Mamata Bannerjee and is actively involved in politics, the contents of your speech left little to the imagination of my client's well-wishers that you were referring to my client."

The lawyer claimed that the "false statements" against his client has caused grave loss and prejudice to his client's reputation amongst his well-wishers and the citizens of India.

Basu said his client Abhishek Banerjee "denies the allegation that he is involved in any purported diversion of public and/or government funds to the tune of Rs 3,59,000 crore or any other sum purportedly allotted from the Centre to the State of West Bengal."

He sought Shah desist from making or circulating any defamatory comments, statement, causing publication of the same in any media against his client.