BJP serves legal notice on Damania

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday served a legal notice to Anjali Anis Damania, member of the India Against Corruption, for making false charges against Nitin Gadkari.

The BJP, which has taken the initiative to expose the irrigation scam in Maharashtra, was at the receiving end after IAC members’ startling allegations that Gadkari had a business relations with NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Damania, in interviews on television channels, alleged that Gadkari was trying to underplay the irrigation scam because of his business links with the Pawars. The serious charges from IAC came at a time when Gadkari was heading the BJP national executive meeting at Surajkund (Haryana).

In a quick move the party has decide to file a defamation suit against the Damania. Leader of the Opposition in the state council Vinod Tawde said, “It [the allegation] is absolutely baseless.”

Another BJP member said: “The IAC perceives Gadkari is responsible for creating a wedge between the social activist Anna Hazare and yoga guru Ramdev Baba. In case of Damania, that it is possible that Gadkari may have held a talk with her on public matters. But to claim that he talked of his business with Pawar is scandalous and totally baseless.”

Earlier, BJP MP Ajit Sancheti, a close aide of Gadkari, had been targeted by the Congress-NCP for his alleged role in coal blocks and Adarsh. BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said: “If anybody is guilty they should be punished. But, so far, nothing has been proved in case of BJP (MP) or MLAs/MLCs.”