BJP leader and in-charge of the party's National Information & Technology Dept, Amit Malviya on Wednesday issued a statement regarding a controversial social media post by Hindu Samhati president Santanu Sinha.
In his statement, Malviya described Santanu Sinha's post as 'slanderous,' stating that it created a specter of a compromised political system that thrives on objectifying women.
Explaining the contents of Sinha's post, Malviya said, "It views working relationships, across genders, in public life, through binaries, which is demeaning, particularly towards women."
He attacked the Congress Party and the Trinamool Congress Party, alleging that they indulge in the dissemination and propagation of falsehoods while claiming to speak for the dignity of women.
The statement read, "On 8th June 2024, my advocates served a Legal Notice on Santanu Sinha, demanding an unqualified apology. Sinha's subsequent retraction on 11th June 2024 is qualified and not unequivocal. It also fails to meet the demands laid out in the Legal Notice. His purported apology is deeply problematic and reductionist."
"The alleged post was defamatory, calculated, and malicious. The wide dissemination by opposition parties has added to the defamation. As such, I have decided to pursue Criminal Defamation against Santanu Sinha under appropriate sections of the IPC. Other civil remedies may also follow, as advised," Malviya further stated in a post on X.
Malviya's statement comes days after Kolkata-based lawyer Santanu Sinha, in a Facebook post, accused him of sexually harassing women while he was in West Bengal.
Opposition parties, TMC and Congress, seized the opportunity and demanded a probe into the allegations.
Sinha expresses hearfelt sorrow
On Tuesday, Sinha hit out at the opposition parties, accusing them of spreading a hate campaign against Malviya and the BJP. He said his statements were “misinterpreted” and expressed “heartfelt sorrow” if they hurt the BJP leader.
Santanu apologised only after Amit Malviya filed a defamation suit of Rs 10 crore against him.
He told ANI that his social media post alleging 'sexual exploitation' of women was not aimed at tarnishing the leader's image but he was just cautioning the leader against being honey-trapped.
