Delhi LG Saxena To Sue AAP Leaders for Defamation: What Is the New Controversy?

Delhi LG VK Saxena's office said that he would take legal action against AAP MLAs Atishi, Durgesh Pathak & others.

Amid an ongoing political slugfest over alleged corruption in the national capital's liquor policy, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Wednesday, 31 August, said that he will sue leaders of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for defamation.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Amid the ongoing political slugfest over alleged corruption in the national capital's liquor policy, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Wednesday, 31 August, said that he would sue leaders of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for defamation.

Who Did the LG Say He Will Sue?

As per a statement issued by LG Saxena's office on Wednesday, he is set to take legal action against AAP MLAs Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Durgesh Pathak, and Dialogue and Development Commission vice-chairperson Jasmine Shah, among others.

Why Is He Suing Them?

"The Lt Governor has decided to take legal action against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders – Saurabh Bhardwaj, Atishi, Durgesh Pathak, and Jasmine Shah, among others – for highly defamatory and false allegations of corruption by them, attributed to his tenure as chairman of KVIC," said a note from L-G office.

The AAP, this week, had catapulted allegations of corruption against the Delhi LG, claiming that he had committed a scam to the tune of Rs 1,400 crore when he was previously serving as the chairperson of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission in 2016.

"It is reiterated that the matter being falsely touted by the AAP is with regards to just Rs 17.07 lakh as against the claims of Rs 1,400 crore which is nothing but a figment of imagination of the accusers who will face the consequences," the statement said.

What Did AAP Say?

Speaking during a special session of the Delhi Assembly on Monday, AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak alleged, "In 2016, Saxena forced Khadi's cashiers to exchange his old unaccounted bank notes for him."

"When the whole country was suffering from cashlessness, lakhs lost jobs and several slept hungry, the then KVIC chairman Saxena committed a scam of Rs 1,400 crore in the name of Mahatma Gandhi."

AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak

Pathak said that two cashiers of Khadi had exposed the "scam" but Saxena "himself investigated" their allegations and suspended them.

"Cashiers Pradeep Yadav and Sanjeev Kumar stated on record that after demonetisation, an illegitimate exchange of Rs 22 lakh in cash took place from their (Delhi) branch alone. And in this manner, the same scam was conducted through 7,000 branches of Khadi spread across India," Pathak had stated.

The AAP held an overnight protest at the Delhi Assembly on Monday, demanding a probe into the purported scam.

Officials at the LG secretariat said the matter was probed by the CBI and the agency had already filed a charge sheet against two accused KVIC employees. The matter is pending in the Rouse Avenue Court, New Delhi, they said.

Notably, the AAP's attack against the LG comes after the latter recommended a CBI probe into the government's liquor policy. The CBI is probing the matter and has filed a case against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, naming him as the principal accused in the case relating to lapses in the excise policy of the Arvind Kejriwal government.

(With inputs from PTI.)