Virbhadra sues Jaitley for defamation

Shimla: Under attack from BJP on corruption charges, Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh filed three defamation cases against Arun Jaitley and other party leaders on Thursday, accusing them of unleashing a malicious campaign against him and his family through media to tarnish his image.
The Congress leader said he has filed a defamation case under Section 499 of IPC against Jaitley, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, and former state chief minister PK Dhumal and two separate petitions against BJP MP Anurag Thakur and Arun Dhumal, son PK Dhumal, in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Shimla, Jyotsana Dhadwal.
The CJM fixed the hearing on February 15. Alleging political vendetta against him, 79-year-old Virbhadra Singh said it was not for the first time that he had been personally targeted by Dhumal. He said that when he came to power there were numerous complaints against Dhumal and other BJP leaders.
But he decided “not to continue the bad practice of political vendetta and victimisation started by Dhumal as he did not want make Himachal Pradesh another Punjab or Tamil Nadu. Not even a single case was registered against BJP leaders,” he said.
Singh went to the districts courts near Chakkar accompanied by some ministers and supporters and after filing the defamation complaints addressed the media in the presence of ministerial colleagues, chairpersons of boards and corporation and other senior Congress leaders.
Singh claimed that during his first term, Dhumal implicated him in Sagar Kattha case and the CD case was filed during the last term but he was exonerated by the court both the times. (PTI)