MP court orders filing of case against Shivraj, state BJP chief on Cong leader’s defamation suit

Bhopal: An MP-MLA Court in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday ordered filing of case against former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state BJP President V.D. Sharma and former minister Bhupendra Singh in a defamation suit.

The court gave the direction while hearing a complaint filed by senior advocate and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha, who accused the three senior BJP leaders of making a ‘baseless’ allegation against him in connection with a case related to 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Madhya Pradesh.

During the panchayat elections in the state, the BJP and Congress had indulged in a race for political gain by pressing for a 27 per cent reservation to the OBCs.

The matter was heard in the Supreme Court in 2021 and the apex court after several hearings, banned 27 per cent reservation for the OBCs.

The BJP had then alleged that advocate Tankha opposed the 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in the Supreme Court. And, the issue was highlighted during the panchayat elections, which were fought like a semifinal to the Assembly elections, which the BJP won with an absolute majority two months back.

Tankha, who is assisting the Congress’ legal team from the front, is considered close to former Chief Minister Kamal Nath. Tankha had objected to the allegation made against him as ‘baseless’ and demanded an apology for it. He had also warned that if the BJP leaders didn’t tender their apology, he would be compelled to file a defamation case against them.

Tankha approached the MP-MLA Court recently, urging to charge the BJP leaders in the defamation case.

The Congress leader has filed a defamation case of Rs 10 crore. The development is likely to heat up the state politics ahead of the Lok Sabha election slated for later this year.

–IANS