kolkata: Trinamool Youth Congress leader Saayoni Ghosh sent a legal notice to the BJP leader Saumitra Khan for allegedly defaming her and also asked him to issue a public apology.
The youth leader, sharing the legal notice issued to Saumitra Khan for his “defamatory statements made in the public domain on February 3, 2023”, demanded a public apology, failing which, Ghosh said she will exercise her legal right in the criminal and civil court of law.
Her lawyer, in the notice, said that Saayoni was shocked to have learnt of the “defamatory comments” made by Khan in a Bengali news channel. It said that the statements made contained “false, incorrect and defamatory statements,” resulting in tarnishing her reputation.
The legal notice accused Khan of alleging that Saayoni has an “illicit relationship” with one Kuntal Ghosh who is presently in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate. This, the notice said, is an “assassination of her character and hampered her reputation in society”.
“The statement made in public at large before the said news channel by you is totally false, concocted, fabricated to malign the character of my client with malafide intention. The allegations made by you against my client are all baseless and without any proof or evidence and we hereby call upon you to substantiate the allegations/ averments with strict proof thereof,” the legal notice read.
Saayoni’s notice accused Khan of deploying pressure tactics for some wrongful gain, keeping in mind the upcoming Panchayat elections in Bengal and triggering negative publicity, which is “tremendously affecting the business prospect of her upcoming film LSD (Lal suitcase ta dekhechen) due for release on 10th February 2023”.
“The statements made by you are defamatory and derogatory in nature and it is certain to harm her career aspects and future prospects as an actor/ celebrity,” the notice read.
The BJP leader has ruled out any scope of issuing an apology and has instead claimed he will opt for a legal reply to the notice sent to him by the TMC Youth leader.