BENGALURU: Social activist TJ Abraham on Friday said he will issue a legal notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for terming him a blackmailer.
“I am pained, deeply hurt and defamed, with the utterly defamatory statement you have made against me in front of the Media, in Mysuru, labelling me a ‘Black-Mailer. I hereby call upon yourself to publicly withdraw your statement expressing your regret and issue a public apology, failing which I will be constrained to initiate proceedings for Criminal Defamation against you, in the Courts of Law,” he posted on X.
He reminded Siddaramaiah that leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was convicted in a criminal defamation case for the Modi surname remark and had lost his LS membership. “Your act of defaming me out of desperation, because I am pursuing a case of Criminal Manipulations culminating in MUDA illegally allotting 14 alternative sites to your family, which is by corrupt means, enriching yourselves illegitimately and illegally to tune of around Rs. 55,80,00,700/-, at the cost of the State Exchequer (Rs 62 Crores according to your own admission),” he posted.
He filed a petition seeking sanction for prosecution against Siddaramaiah in the alleged MUDA scam and Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot issued a show-cause notice to the CM. The council of ministers passed a resolution on Thursday, asking the governor to withdraw the notice and reject Abraham’s petition.
Talking to media persons on Friday, Abraham criticised the cabinet’s resolution and asserted that the MUDA scam is a fit case for the governor to sanction for prosecution. “Though the CM did not sign on any papers, there is evidence to draw inference from the instances where he had misused his office to get 14 sites allotted to his wife by MUDA. His son Dr Yathindra is also involved as he was a MUDA member when he was the MLA,” he alleged.
Siddaramaiah termed Abraham a “blackmailer” while talking to reporters in Mysuru on Friday.