Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has issued a legal notice to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for allegedly making a defamatory comment against him on Twitter. The notice has called upon Prasad to tender an unconditional apology within 48 hours to avoid legal consequences.
Prasad, in a tweet on October 28, had termed Tharoor as an accused in a murder case. While responding to the MP's alleged remarks likening Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the “scorpion on a Shivalinga”, the minister had said: “Shashi Tharoor who is accused in a murder case has attempted to disrespect Lord Shiva.”
The minister had also posted a video clip of his press conference in which he had said that "Tharoor was charge-sheeted in a serious allegation of murder". His comments were an apparent reference to the death case of Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar, in which the UN diplomat-turned-politician has been charged with abetting suicide.
Shashi Tharoor who is accused in a murder case has attempted to disrespect Lord Shiva.
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) October 28, 2018
I seek a reply from Rahul Gandhi who claims himself to be a Bhakt of Lord Shiva on this horrific denunciation of Hindu gods by a Congress MP.
Rahul Gandhi must apologize to all Hindus. pic.twitter.com/QeShJoCHDZ
Prasad's statements are “untrue, false, scandalous and malicious”, Tharoor said in his notice issued through advocate Suraj Krishna.
“Being an eminent lawyer, yourself is well aware, when a Criminal Court frames Charge against an accused and yourself is well aware that in the ongoing criminal case against Dr. Shashi Tharoor in relation to the death of his late wife Sunanda Pushkar, the offence alleged by prosecution against him is not that of murder and the Hon'ble Court, which trying his case, is yet to frame any charge against him. Even the police charge sheet against Dr. Shashi Tharoor does not contain any allegations of murder,” said the legal notice.
The notice also alleged that Prasad made the comments with an intention to “harm, tarnish and malign his (Tharoor's) reputation and to destroy his impeccable image that he enjoys among the public.”
The controversy started after Tharoor quoted an unnamed RSS member who had allegedly told a journalist in 2012 that Modi was like a “scorpion on a Shivalinga”. The metaphor, however, has drawn sharp criticism from BJP leaders who accused the Thiruvananthapuram MP of insulting Lord Shiva.
