Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi said he would file a defamation case against Arvind Kejirwal
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi today said he would file a defamation case against AAP leader Arvind Kejirwal, who has dubbed him as a dishonest man after the Enforcement Directorate carried out raids at many places including at the premises of the Congress leader's nephew.
Mr Channi alleged that Arvind Kejriwal was in the habit of levelling accusations to malign the image of others and that in the past it was seen how he had to later apologise to BJP leaders Nitin Gadkari, late Arun Jaitley and Shromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia.
Speaking to reporters in his constituency in Chamkaur Sahib, he claimed that Mr Kejriwal has now crossed all limits and that he has requested his party to give permission to file a defamation case against the AAP leader.
"I will file a defamation case against Arvind Kejriwal and have requested my party to give permission to do so. I am compelled to do this...he is dubbing me as dishonest and he has put that on his Twitter handle," he said.
Opposition parties, particularly the AAP, have stepped up attacks on Mr Channi and the Congress in the wake of the Enforcement Directorate raids.
Earlier in the day, Mr Kejriwal had said that Mr Channi will be defeated from his Chamkaur Sahib seat in next month's assembly polls, while stressing that people were shocked to see crores of rupees being seized from the home of Mr Channi's nephew.
Asked to comment on this, Mr Channi replied, "Now, what has happened, money has been from someone else, raids are conducted on someone else, but he (Arvind Kejriwal) is dubbing me as dishonest by putting photos showing bundles of notes (seized during ED raids) with my photo over social media".
"He is calling me dishonest...did he call himself dishonest when his nephew was caught..," asked Mr Channi.
"Why photos of bundles of notes with my photos on social media accounts. Which money came to me, what is my fault in this? Why are you dragging me into this? Some money of someone else seized...there was a raid at ten places in Punjab, why are you linking me with this. Had money been seized from me, ED would have conducted raids at my house, arrested me, questioned me," said Mr Channi seeking to clarify his position vis-a-vis accusations levelled by the opposition after his nephew was raided.
The Aam Aadmi Party has been attacking Mr Channi ever since the Enforcement Directorate carried out raids at many places including at the premises of Mr Channi's nephew.
The Delhi Chief Minister had on Wednesday said Mr Channi is not a common man but a "dishonest man" as he sought to corner the Congress leader over the ED raids.
Probe agency ED on Wednesday had said it seized cash amounting to over Rs 10 crore, including about Rs 8 crore from a relative of Mr Channi, during raids conducted in connection with an anti-money laundering investigation against illegal sand-mining operations in the poll-bound state.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)