Swami Pradiptananda of Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) on Monday sent a legal notice to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee seeking an unconditional apology in 48 hours two days after she named him while accusing a section of monks of working for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“…call upon you [Banerjee] to forthwith address the press and issue an unconditional apology and retract your virulent and malafide statement within 48 hours from receipt of the instant notice and cease and desist from making further similar statements against my client defaming and maligning my client,” Pradiptananda’s counsel Billwadal Bhattacharyya said in the notice, a copy of which HT has seen.
The notice said that if Banerjee did not reply within four days, it would be understood that she wanted to give wide publicity to the defamatory content to falsely and maliciously defame Pradiptanandaand. It added that Pradiptananda, who is BSS secretary in Aurangabad, Beldanga (Murshidabad) and Payradanga (Nadia) and better known as Kartick Maharaj, reserves the right to initiate criminal cases against Banerjee.
On Saturday, Banerjee said she have great respect for monks but not all of them are same. “BSS has a unit in Berhampore. I have heard about a Maharaj [monk] for a long time. His name is Kartick Maharaj. He said he will not allow any TMC election agent in polling booths. I do not consider him a monk because he is directly involved in politics. He is ruining the country. I have great respect for Bharat Sevashram Sangha,” Banerjee said at a rally in Hooghly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused Banerjee of “bad-mouthing” and “threatening” ISKCON, RKM, and BSS to protect Muslims and infiltrators, calling them ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s vote bank.
“…the chief minister is bad-mouthing our great organisations and maligning them under pressure from hardcore Muslim outfits to secure votes. TMC is insulting Bengal’s heritage and culture. They repeatedly use vulgar words against Ram Mandir [in Ayodhya]. Would not you reply to TMC’s appeasement politics with your votes,” Modi said at a rally in Bankura.
