Shashi Tharoor files criminal complaint against RS Prasad for defamatory remarks

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has filed a criminal complaint against Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for making defamatory remarks against him.

Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Tharoor has filed a complained in Thiruvananthapuram court.

The development comes over two months after a notice was sent by Tharoor's lawyer to the Union Minister over the video posted by him on his official Twitter handle on October 28 where the latter said, "Shashi Tharoor who is charge-sheeted in a murder case has attempted to disrespect Lord Shiva."

Prasad had made the statement during a press conference after Tharoor quoted an unnamed RSS source as saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was like a 'scorpion sitting on a Shiva Linga who cannot be removed by hand or hit with a chappal (slipper) either'.

In October, Tharoor demanding "unconditional and written apology from Prasad within 48 hours" of the receipt of the notice,

Tharoor had also asked for the video to be deleted. He further said that the statements made in the video was "false, untrue, malicious, and highly defamatory". 

"Being the person who heads the Ministry of Law and Justice, the highest establishment of the Union Government responsible for the Law and Justice System of the country, yourself must be truthful, honest, correct and highly responsible for the public statements you make as the people view or read your statements will tend to relate such statements to the Office you hold and you are well aware of that fact," the notice read.