TNR Desk
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has been served a defamation notice by Sudhir Sharma, a former disqualified MLA from Dharamshala who rebelled against the Congress and joined the BJP.
The notice, delivered through advocate Amar Vivek Agarwal, seeks damages of Rs 5 crore for defamation along with an additional Rs 55,000 for legal expenses.
The defamation claim relates to Chief Minister Sukhu’s remarks made during a public meeting in Kutlehar Assembly constituency of Una district. In that meeting, CM Sukhu had alleged that rebel Congress MLAs had been bought for Rs 15 crore each with the masterminds behind the conspiracy to topple the government fetching much higher sums, a statement for which he claimed to have evidence.
The CM asserted that it was time to hold accountable those who “bartered away public trust and the integrity of their elected positions”. Sukhu vowed that these dissidents would face legal consequences, suggesting that their ill-gotten gains should be reclaimed for the public good. He also said that those who engaged in such unethical conduct should forfeit their election deposits, regardless of their party affiliation, and emphasised the need for voters to cleanse politics of such corruption.
In response, Sudhir, fielded by the BJP for the Dharamshala Assembly byelection, countered the Chief Minister’s allegations with a legal notice, dismissing the claim as baseless and demanding proof of the alleged transactions. He criticised Sukhu’s statements as rash and indicated that he would seek redressal through legal channels. He rebuked Sukhu for making such unsubstantiated claims, particularly given his position as the Chief Minister.
