Shashi Tharoor faces FIR over ‘false’ campaign against minister

Thiruvananthapuram, April 21

Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha candidate Shashi Tharoor has been booked for allegedly carrying out a false campaign against Union Minister and rival candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the police said here on Sunday.

The case was registered by the cyber police here on April 15, but its details were revealed today. According to the police, the case against Tharoor was registered based on a complaint lodged by BJP leader JR Padmakumar, who accused the Congress leader of carrying out a false campaign against Chandrasekhar during a television programme.

The complainant alleged that Tharoor, during the programme, had made defamatory statements against Chandrasekhar with regard to influencing voters of coastal regions in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

The case was registered under Sections 171-G and 500 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 65 of IT Act, a cyber police official said.