Delhi Classroom Row: Manish Sisodia Seeks Apology From Manoj Tiwari, other BJP Leaders For 'Scam' Charge; Sends Defamation Notice

Sisodia accused the BJP leaders of defaming him through "offending publications" based on "cooked up" allegations and sought their "complete, express, unqualified and unambiguous apology".

Seeking a written apology from Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and his party colleagues Vijender Gupta and Pravesh Verma, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday served a legal notice for criminal defamation against the leaders for "false allegations" on classrooms built by the AAP government in the national capital.

New Delhi: Seeking a written apology from Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and his party colleagues Vijender Gupta and Pravesh Verma, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday served a legal notice for criminal defamation against the leaders for "false allegations" on classrooms built by the AAP government in the national capital. Sisodia accused the BJP leaders of defaming him through "offending publications" based on "cooked up" allegations and sought their "complete, express, unqualified and unambiguous apology". Sisodia, who also holds the education portfolio, sought a written apology from them or else he would go ahead with legal proceedings including prosecution for criminal defamation. Watch | Sisodia's shows school on BJP's accusation of classroom 'scam' Tiwari and other leaders had Monday alleged a Rs 2,000-crore "scam" in the construction of school classrooms by the Delhi government. Citing an RTI reply, Tiwari had claimed that the AAP government constructed 12,782 classrooms at a cost of Rs 2,892 crore, while it needed just Rs 800 crore. "You have alleged that the buildings being built are substandard and that the 34 contractors are Mr (CM Arvind Kejriwal) Kejriwal's, the Aam Aadmi Party's members and my clients' relatives, friends and colleagues, without any basis for these statement. "Each of these statements, as well as the other statements in the offending publication is false and baseless," Sisodia's lawyer said in the notice. On Tuesday, Sisodia had said the AAP government was committed to providing quality education to poor children and would not shy away from spending Rs 25 lakh per classroom in state-run schools. (with inputs from PTI)