Kolkata: TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee sent a Rs 10 crore legal notice to veteran leader Madan Mitra Tuesday, claiming that the MLA made defamatory statements against him in a social media post.
The notice by Banerjee’s lawyer claimed compensation to Banerjee by Mitra “for the loss of his personal reputation, political standing, credibility and goodwill.”
Banerjee asked the Kamarhati MLA, who recently joined the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction of the party, to stop making false accusations.
The notice claimed that Mitra made “malicious” comments against Banerjee in a live broadcast, making fabricated insinuations.
It also stated that the amount of Rs 10 crore will be kept in a registered trust to facilitate defection proceedings against the defected MPs and MLAs of Trinamool Congress and for legal and rehabilitational requirements of political violence victims.
The notice demanded that the compensation be paid within three days, along with the issuance of a public apology.
The notice claimed that the statements amounted to calculated falsehoods intended to portray the three-time MP from Diamond Harbour as “a person involved in heinous criminal activities, thereby seriously damaging his reputation, integrity, public standing and political credibility.”
Maintaining that the live broadcast by Mitra was viewed, shared and disseminated by a large number of people across various digital and social media platforms, the notice said the “defamatory imputations” have reached innumerable members of the public, causing serious and irreparable injury to Banerjee’s reputation.
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