DEFAMATION CASES: KEJRIWAL APOLOGISES TO GADKARI, SIBAL
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal apologised to union minister Nitin Gadkari and Congress leader Kapil Sibal for accusing them of corruption-the latest in his attempts to settle defamation cases filed against him by rival politicians.
“I have nothing personal against you. I regret the same. Let us put the incident behind us and bring the court proceedings to a closure,” said Kejriwal in a letter to transport minister Gadkari. Gadkari had filed a defamation suit against Kejriwal, chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), for calling him in 2014 one of the most corrupt politicians in the country. Kejriwal had then refused to bow down or withdraw a complaint against Gadkari. On Monday, Kejriwal and Gadkari filed a joint application seeking withdrawal of the defamation case from Delhi’s Patiala House court. Kejriwal last week apologised to Punjab politcian Bikram Singh Majithia.
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday apologised to Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Congress leader Kapil Sibal for making unverified allegations of corruption against them and requesting them “to bring the court proceedings to an end”. The two had filed separate defamation cases against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief.
“I made certain statements… which seem to have hurt you. I have nothing personal against you. I regret the same,” Kejriwal wrote to Gadkari on March 16. Following Kejriwal’s apology to Gadkari, the two filed a joint affidavit on Monday informing a city court that they did not wish to pursue their case.
The development comes within days of Kejriwal tendering a similar apology to former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia whom he had accused of running a drug trade in the state.
In 2014, Kejriwal had called Gadkari one of the most corrupt politicians, prompting the Union transport minister to sue him for defamation. Kejriwal had also accused Sibal and his son, Amit, of conflict of interest in seeking a revision in tax demand for a cellular company. This was when Sibal was law minister and Amit was the company’s legal counsel.
Sibal said he accepted the apology and will “not process the case further”. “Kejriwal ji and Sisodia ji have accepted that the allegations they had put on me and my son in a press conference few years ago were baseless. They’ve apologised for the same today (Monday). He has apologised for what he did, everything is forgotten now, we will move ahead. We have conveyed this to the court as well,” said the Congress leader.
Kejriwal still faces over 30 court cases, including 11 defamation cases, across the country. Some of the prominent defamation cases against him have been filed by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri, and Congress leader Pawan Khera.
Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Monday said, “We are here to work for the public. We do not have time for courts. If someone is hurt by our remarks, we will apologise. We do not want to indulge in a battle of ego.” He also wrote a similar apology to Sibal.