Nitin Gadkari: In response to allegedly defamatory comments against him being shared on the Congress party’s official X account, Union minister Nitin Gadkari has written legal notifications to general secretary Jairam Ramesh and president Mallikarjun Kharge.
Gadkari’s Reaction to the 19-Second Video Removal
Gadkari’s attorney, Balendu Shekhar, stated that the BJP leader was taken aback upon seeing that a 19-second video clip had been removed from his interview with lallantop. His attorney said that the video obscured the significance and background of his remarks.
Nitin Gadkari’s interview was contorted and twisted, according to the notifications. His attorney charged that the leaders of Congress were engaged in a dark deed intended only to spread uncertainty, sensationalism, and ill-will.
Gadkari’s Lawyer Accuses Congress of a Sinister Act in Interview Manipulation
“While pursuing the said sinister act, my client’s interview has also been twisted, distorted, and presented on your handle ‘X’ by uploading the above video, which is bereft and devoid of contextual meaning. The same has been done deliberately and consciously with a selected piece of Hindi captions,” his lawyer wrote in the notice.
A snippet from Nitin Gadkari’s conversation with The Lallantop was shown in the video. The Congress captioned the video that they put on X, saying “Aaj gaon, mazdoor aur kisan dukhi hai. Gaon mein achhe roads nahi hai, peene ke liye shudh pani nahi hai, achhe aspatal nahi hai, achhe schools nahi hai — Modi sarkar ke mantri Nitin Gadkari.”
Gadkari’s Legal Team Asserts Congress Leaders Understood Statement Context
Nitin Gadkari’s attorney claimed that Ramesh and Kharge, two of the most powerful Congressmen, understood the context of the former’s statement, which was intended to draw attention to the efforts of the Narendra Modi administration to further national development. He claimed that the purpose of posting the video with the Hindi caption was to harm Nitin Gadkari’s standing.
“My client was shocked to know, hear, and see the contents and post on the microblogging site ‘X’ from your party’s (Indian National Congress) official handle at 9:36 AM on March 1, 2024, on which you noticees deliberately posted 19 seconds of audio and visual clipping by concealing the contextual intent and meaning of the client’s interview,” it said.
“The same sinister act has been done with sole intent and ulterior motives to fan and create confusion, sensation, and disrepute to my client in the eyes of the public at large, as well as a futile endeavour to build fissure and rift in the solidarity of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is all poised to win the trust of people in the upcoming general election under the leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” added the notice.
Notice Calls for Removal of Video and Three-Day Apology from Congress
Nitin Gadkari has asked that X take down the video and issue a three-day written apology. “This legal notice is calling you to remove/delete the above mentioned post from your microblogging site ‘X’ forthwith and in any event, not later than 24 hours of the receipt of this legal notice, coupled with a written apology to my client within three days, failing which my client would have no other option but to take recourse to all such actions that are open to him, both civil and criminal, at your risk and expense,” it said.
