‘Drug addict’ remark: Dushyant files defamation suit against Anil Vij
Hisar MP says he has never taken drugs; date of hearing fixed for Aug 14
ROHTAK: HISAR member of Parliament (MP) and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Dushyant Chautala filed a criminal defamation case against Haryana health minister Anil Vij on Saturday, for allegedly calling Chautala a ‘drug addict’.
Chautala reached the court of chief judicial magistrate in Hisar to file the case, more than three months after Vij advised him to get himself admitted at a rehabilitation centre.
“The allegations made by the minister against me are false and baseless. I have never taken drugs in my life,” Chautala said, in his criminal complaint.
The MP said he comes from a respected political family and gave record of his educational background from reputed institutions. He maintained that the allegations by the health minister were “blatant lies with mala-fide intentions” to create a wrong impression about him in the eyes of the public. The court has fixed August 14 as the date of hearing.
WHEN THE TIFF BEGAN
The incident pertained to the INLD leader alleging a ₹200 crore scam in procurement of medicines by civil hospitals in Haryana during his press conference in March this year. Vij, being the health minister, conducted a brief inquiry and declared there had been no scam. He further said that Chautala might be doing drugs and advised him to rather get himself admitted at a rehabilitation centre.
Chautala had hit back at the minister on Twitter, calling him ‘sadakchaap’ for his spat with a woman IPS officer during a grievance meet in Fatehabad in 2015.
Intensifying the Twitter war, Vij replied to Chautala, asking him to rather focus on corruption done by his family. “Do you know how many of your family members are in jail and how many more are to go in future for corruption?” the minister had tweeted.