M A I N   N E W S

Dhumal sues Capt, Vora
Files two criminal complaints
Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 6
Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, today filed criminal complaints against Capt Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr Moti Lal Vora, a senior Congress leader, and Mr Anand Sharma, a former MP and AICC spokesperson, for making baseless, defamatory allegations against him.

Mr Dhumal filed two criminal complaints in the court of the local Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr A.S. Jaswal, under Sections 499 and 500, IPC, charging the three leaders with making false imputations and allegations against him to harm his reputation.

The first complaint has been filed on the basis of the speeches made by Capt Amarinder Singh and Mr Moti Lal Vora at a public rally at Hamirpur on January 18, and the second against Mr Anand Sharma in in connection with the allegations levelled by him at a press conference in Barog on February 3. Mr Sharma had also released a list of properties allegedly owned by members of Mr Dhumal’s family.

Mr Dhumal has pleaded in the complaints that the accused be summoned, tried and punished for committing an offence against him under the above-mentioned sections.

The criminal complaints were filed by Dhumal personally in the court. A large number of partymen accompanied him. In the complaints Mr Dhumal mentioned that he took over as Chief Minister in March, 1998, and served the people to the best of his ability and capacity. He said the elections to the state Vidhan Sabha were scheduled for February 26 and it had become very clear that the BJP was sure to win. The Congress, which stood no chance of winning the election had launched a campaign of character assassination and vilification against him and his party so that it could win the election by hook or crook.

He said all allegations levelled against him by all these three Congress leaders were false. They had levelled the charges with an ulterior motive of maligning him and tarnishing the image of the BJP. He said the Congress leaders were throwing mud in the air under the false hope that it might hit and stick on Mr Dhumal. Advocates Mr Sat Pal Jain, Mr Rajinder Kishore and Mr Sandeep Kaushik represented Mr Dhumal. The case has been fixed for hearing on February 15.