New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi Pradesh President Saurabh Bhardwaj has sent a legal notice to Dainik Jagran for defamation. He has alleged that the newspaper published false and misleading news by describing him as the Health Minister of the Delhi government during 2018-19, when he did not hold any ministerial post during that period.
Repeated False Reports Spark AAP’s Strong Rebuttal
On June 24, a press release issued by the Lt. Governor's office said that an investigation into the alleged Rs 1000 crore hospital scam would be conducted. Based on this, on June 25, Jagran published that Saurabh Bhardwaj and Satyendra Jain had approved 24 hospital projects while they were ministers. Bhardwaj denied this by holding a press conference and issuing a press release on June 26, but the same facts were published again on June 27. Bhardwaj said, "I was not a minister from 2015 to 2020. All journalists in Delhi know this fact. Despite this, wrong reports were published time and again. This has caused mental anguish to my image and the entire family."
AAP Warns Media, Seeks Accountability
He also warned that if the newspaper does not admit its mistake and publicly apologize, the AAP party will file a defamation case. He also questioned whether the use of words like "scam" in press releases is consistent with fair reporting. He appealed to journalists to report only after verifying the facts. "Behind an honest politician, his entire family is sacrificed. The media should respect that sentiment," Bhardwaj said.
