It said that the comments made by Bandi Sanjay on 19 October regarding alleged phone-tapping incidents when the BRS was in power in Telangana and accusing Rama Rao of drug abuse were without any basis and were aimed at tarnishing his goodwill and reputation.
Published Oct 23, 2024 | 1:10 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 23, 2024 | 1:10 PM
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BRS Working President KT Rama Rao (KTR) sent a defamation notice demanding an unconditional apology from BJP leader and Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay over the latter’s remark on phone tapping.
The letter dated 22 October was sent by advocate Srikanth Hariharan on behalf of Rama Rao, who is the MLA from Sircilla in Telangana.
It said that the comments made by Bandi Sanjay on 19 October regarding alleged phone-tapping incidents when the BRS was in power in Telangana and accusing Rama Rao of drug abuse were without any basis and were aimed at tarnishing his goodwill and reputation.
The advocate demanded the Union MoS to make a public apology in this regard adding that failing to do so would compel the Sircilla MLA to go ahead with legal proceedings.
The BRS leader claimed that the statements made by Bandi Sanjay were baseless.
“Our client states that it has recently come to his attention that you have given press conference on 19.10.2024 making false, defamatory and slanderous statements, inter alia, implying that our client consumes drugs, committed the act of “phone tapping” during his term and further, his father Sri Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao is charged with “phone tapping”. At the outset, our client states that allegations made by you are misplaced without proofs and reeks of your mala fide intention to tarnish the reputation, image and goodwill of our client. The allegations are abominable and petulant,” the letter said.
It also cited the statement made by Bandi Sanjay and listed YouTube links to the speech made by him.
Further, Rama Rao accused Bandi Sanjay of “indulging in hatefully malicious and vindictive ways and methods” to damage his reputation.
“Your sole objective is malicious in nature to impugn and tarnish our client’s goodwill and reputation. There is absolutely no proof that our client consumes drugs and he vehemently denies the allegations made by you in the press conference. You are put to strict proof of the statements you have made without any basis whatsoever in nature,” the letter said.
The letter alleged that the statements were made to gain publicity to strengthen the political agenda of Bandi Sanjay.
“Our client states that the above said acts of you in making per se defamatory allegations inter alia are made to injure the reputation of our client and to gain cheap publicity by creating a sensational news item to further your political agenda,” it said.
It said from the day these allegations were published and circulated, Rama Rao has been suffering considerable embarrassment and loss of reputation.
Accusing Bandi Sanjay of distorting the facts and misleading the public at large for personal and political benefits, Rama Rao sought an unconditional apology and asked him to refrain from making “malicious” statements in the future.
“If you fail to comply with the demand in para 12 (a) above within seven (days) of receipt of this notice and/or continue to make such defamatory statements against our client, he shall be constrained to initiate legal action against you, including but not limited to civil and criminal, against you by exercising rights and remedies available to him,” the letter said.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
