Panaji: AAP Goa on Wednesday termed the defamation case filed against their national leader Sanjay Singh by the wife of Goa Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant as an attempt to divert him from the Delhi election campaign.
AAP Goa General Secretary Walmiki Naik, addressing a press conference in Panaji on Wednesday, said that Singh, being one of the star campaigners for the Delhi election, is being targeted so that his time is wasted in appearing for the defamation case.
Sulakshana Sawant, wife of Goa Chief Minister, has filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against Singh on Tuesday in a court at Bicholim village in North Goa. She has accused him of defaming her name in connection with the cash-for-jobs scam.
Naik said that the Delhi elections are scheduled for the end of January or the beginning of February next year, for which campaigning is ongoing. Singh is one of the top three campaigners of the party, and they (BJP) want to waste his time by involving him in such cases, he said.
The AAP leader also pointed out that the press conference was held in New Delhi, while the case was filed in Bicholim, so that Singh would have to waste time traveling here.
“We don’t know how long this case will go on. But the complainant will have to present evidence before the court showing what Singh said and how it amounts to her defamation,” Naik said.
Naik also mentioned that the defamation case is another attempt to divert attention from the custodial escape of land grab accused Siddiqui Suleman Khan from the custody of the Crime Branch.
The accused was allowed to escape from custody by a police constable last week. After his escape, the accused released a video accusing a senior official of the Crime Branch of orchestrating his escape.
