Union Minister Nitin Gadkari took legal action on Friday against Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and General Secretary Jairam Ramesh for spreading what he claims to be misleading and defamatory content about him on the social media platform X.
The minister was surprised to discover posts from the official Congress handle on the microblogging platform, which he alleges misrepresented his statements, news agency PTI reported citing Balendu Shekhar, Gadkari’s lawyer.
Kharge and Ramesh are accused of sharing a 19-second video clip of Gadkari’s interview with “The Lallantop” web portal, omitting the context and meaning of his words, as per the notice issued, PTI reported.
According to PTI, the legal notice said that the actions of Kharge and Ramesh were aimed at creating confusion, sensation, and tarnishing Gadkari’s reputation in the eyes of the public. Additionally, it suggests that there may have been an attempt to sow discord within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the upcoming general election under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
The notice claims that Gadkari’s interview was manipulated and distorted through the uploaded video, which allegedly misrepresented the contextual meaning.
The PTI report said that the notice specifically addresses the use of a selective Hindi caption: “Aaj gaon, mazdoor aur kisan dukhi hai. Gaon mein achhe roads nahi hai, peene ke liye shudh pani nahi hai, achhe aspatal nahi hai, achhe schools nahi hai — Modi sarkar ke mantri Nitin Gadkari (Villages, labourers and farmers are unhappy today. Villages do not have roads, drinking water, good hospitals and schools — Nitin Gadkari, a minister in the Modi government).”
The notice accused Kharge and Ramesh of deliberately concealing the full context of Gadkari’s interview, which highlighted the government’s efforts, as per the PTI report.
The report further said that the legal notice demands the removal of the mentioned posts from the microblogging site ‘X’ within 24 hours, along with a written apology to Gadkari within three days. Failure to comply, it warns, may lead Gadkari to pursue both civil and criminal actions against them at their own risk and expense.
The Congress has not yet responded to the notice.
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