West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday announced that he would proceed with legal action against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, stating that the deadline given to her to respond to a defamation notice had lapsed.
In a post on X, Adhikari claimed that the Chief Minister’s failure to issue a reply had effectively exposed what he described as the baseless nature of her allegations linking him to an alleged coal scam.
"Mamata Banerjee seems to be at wits end. The time given to Mamata Banerjee vide the Defamation Notice on my behalf has now expired and being in a fix has prevented her from replying. The Chief Minister by her conduct has made it clear that her imaginary allegations pertaining to me being involved in a coal scam was a product of her insalubrious mindset. Get ready to face legal consequences in the Court. Mamata Banerjee, now I will see you in Court," Adhikari said in his post.
The statement follows a legal notice served by Adhikari on Friday, in which he had asked the Chief Minister to substantiate her allegations within 72 hours. The notice warned that failure to do so would leave him with no option but to initiate civil and criminal defamation proceedings.
Earlier, Adhikari had also taken to X to accuse the Chief Minister of making the allegations as a “desperate attempt to divert attention” from an ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe. He had described her remarks as defamatory, politically driven, and harmful to the standards of public debate.
"These reckless statements, laced with personal insults, were made publicly without any shred of evidence. Such unsubstantiated claims not only tarnished my reputation but also undermine the dignity of public discourse," he had said.
The defamation notice, sent through advocate Suryaneel Das, was issued after Banerjee publicly alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Suvendu Adhikari were involved in an alleged coal smuggling operation. She had further claimed that funds from the purported scam were routed to Shah through Adhikari. The remarks were made during a public address amid protests over an ED raid at the I-PAC office in Kolkata.
In the notice, Adhikari characterised the Chief Minister’s statements as “reckless, baseless, and wholly unsubstantiated,” and objected to what he termed personal and inappropriate comments aimed at damaging his credibility as an elected representative. The notice formally sought all documents and material evidence supporting the allegations within the stipulated timeframe.
