Delhi cabinet minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa has filed a criminal defamation case in a Delhi court against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjeev Jha and Kuldeep Kumar after they accused the minister of corruption.
Sirsa has said that the allegations are baseless and have damaged his and his family’s reputation.
He said that this is not the first time Bharadwaj and AAP leaders made false allegations against him.
Sirsa recorded his statement today before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Vinod Joshi of the Rouse Avenue Courts.
The case will be heard next on November 18.
AAP leaders levelled allegations that Sirsa was involved in the misuse of funds in a gurdwara gullak (donation box). They labelled him “gullak chor (donation box thief)”.
They also alleged that subsidised rice meant for Delhi’s poor was diverted and sold to a private company in Haryana. AAP claimed the alleged rice scam could involve ₹22,000 crore over three years.
Sirsa told the Court today that the gullak is used religiously in Sikhism and using the phrase "gullak chor" has hurt his reputation.
Further, he said that the allegation of a rice scam also hurt his and his family's reputation.
Advocates Yoginder Handoo and Gaurav Vishwakarma appeared for Sirsa.