New Delhi:
Zee News has sent a Rs 150-crore defamation notice to Naveen Jindal. The news channel says that the steel tycoon and Congress leader has wrongly accused it of blackmailing and extortion. It has also alleged that by blaming the channel, Mr Jindal is trying to deflect attention from his alleged role in the coal allocation scam.
In a statement released today, Zee News said that a press conference held by Mr Jindal earlier this week was a deliberate attempt to malign the network. "Zee News has condemned and completely rejected the doctored evidence produced by Jindal. Zee News sees this as a deliberate attempt to malign the trustworthy Television Network," the statement read.
"Zee News has granted a three day time period to Mr Naveen Jindal to withdraw all his unsubstantiated and defamatory allegations against Zee News, failing which Mr Jindal would face civil and criminal actions initiated by Zee News," it further stated.
At a press conference on Thursday, Mr Jindal showed a video recording of meetings with Zee TV executives and claimed this to be proof that they were trying to extort money from him. Mr Jindal said the TV channel told his company's executives that if they did not spend Rs. 100 crore on advertising, the channel would run unfavourable stories about how his firm was allocated coal fields.
Mr Jindal says the "extortion attempt" was caught on a hidden camera; he released CDs of this footage to reporters. The 'reverse sting' was carried out between September 13 and 19 over four meetings in different locations in Delhi.
But Zee news has refuted all charges. In the press release, it has said that "Zee News has always been the forerunner in exposing Naveen Jindal's double standard as a politician and industrialist in Coalgate scam. Zee News clearly understands that it is to suppress the coverage that Zee News was telecasting on Coalgate, that the Corporate Communications team from JSPL first tried to bribe Samir Ahluwalia with Rs 25 cr, which he declined straightway, and later was offered a Rs 100 Crore Advertising deal to stop the coverage of Coalgate scam."
It has also alleged that attempts by "right thinking media houses including Zee News to bring out the truth in the Rs.1.86 lakh crore Coalgate scam are being muzzled by Mr. Naveen Jindal by distorting the truth and defaming those on the righteous path." It also cited the Comptroller and Auditor General report that has named Mr Jindal's Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) as one of the beneficiaries of the allocation that was done bypassing auctions.
Mr Jindal's company has also filed a police case against Zee, which is promoted by Subhash Chandra.
In a statement released today, Zee News said that a press conference held by Mr Jindal earlier this week was a deliberate attempt to malign the network. "Zee News has condemned and completely rejected the doctored evidence produced by Jindal. Zee News sees this as a deliberate attempt to malign the trustworthy Television Network," the statement read.
"Zee News has granted a three day time period to Mr Naveen Jindal to withdraw all his unsubstantiated and defamatory allegations against Zee News, failing which Mr Jindal would face civil and criminal actions initiated by Zee News," it further stated.
At a press conference on Thursday, Mr Jindal showed a video recording of meetings with Zee TV executives and claimed this to be proof that they were trying to extort money from him. Mr Jindal said the TV channel told his company's executives that if they did not spend Rs. 100 crore on advertising, the channel would run unfavourable stories about how his firm was allocated coal fields.
Mr Jindal says the "extortion attempt" was caught on a hidden camera; he released CDs of this footage to reporters. The 'reverse sting' was carried out between September 13 and 19 over four meetings in different locations in Delhi.
But Zee news has refuted all charges. In the press release, it has said that "Zee News has always been the forerunner in exposing Naveen Jindal's double standard as a politician and industrialist in Coalgate scam. Zee News clearly understands that it is to suppress the coverage that Zee News was telecasting on Coalgate, that the Corporate Communications team from JSPL first tried to bribe Samir Ahluwalia with Rs 25 cr, which he declined straightway, and later was offered a Rs 100 Crore Advertising deal to stop the coverage of Coalgate scam."
It has also alleged that attempts by "right thinking media houses including Zee News to bring out the truth in the Rs.1.86 lakh crore Coalgate scam are being muzzled by Mr. Naveen Jindal by distorting the truth and defaming those on the righteous path." It also cited the Comptroller and Auditor General report that has named Mr Jindal's Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) as one of the beneficiaries of the allocation that was done bypassing auctions.
Mr Jindal's company has also filed a police case against Zee, which is promoted by Subhash Chandra.
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