The Samajwadi Party has issued a legal notice to Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey over his remarks linking Ramshankar alias Tinnu Yadav, one of the eight accused arrested in the Ram Temple donation embezzlement case, with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Samajwadi Adhivakta Sabha president Krishna Kanhaiya Pal told news agency PTI that the notice was sent against Dubey on charges of "defamation, character assassination and publication of malicious content" targeting Akhilesh Yadav.
"You, noticee (Nishikant Dubey), have shared such defamatory contents/remarks to intentionally cause hatred towards the Samajwadi Party and Akhilesh Yadav ji, thereby directly inciting hatred against the Samajwadi Party, hence seditious in nature," the notice stated.
Pal has sought an apology from Dubey "in favour" of the SP and Akhilesh Yadav within two weeks.
The dispute began after Dubey questioned whether there was a connection between Akhilesh Yadav and Tinnu Yadav, writing, "Was Tinnu talking to Tipu?"
Dubey had also reshared an X post by Saravanaprasad Balasubramanian, which alleged that the reported association between Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav had added a new dimension to the Ram Temple donation theft case.
"The alleged contact between Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav has made the Ram Temple donation theft case even more sensational," the post said.
"According to police investigation and mobile call detail record analysis, Tinnu Yadav was reportedly in regular contact with Akhilesh Yadav, speaking with him once or twice almost daily. The records also reportedly show that just one day before his arrest, Tinnu Yadav spoke with Akhilesh Yadav three times over the phone," it added.
The post further claimed that Tinnu Yadav, who worked as a tempo driver, allegedly gained the confidence of Ram Temple authorities by presenting himself as a VHP worker and was assigned the responsibility of collecting and counting devotees' donations.
"If these reported phone contacts are accurate, the nature and purpose of this communication deserve a thorough and impartial investigation. Why they were in such frequent contact is a serious question that investigators should examine carefully," Balasubramanian wrote on X.
Akhilesh Yadav had earlier threatened legal action against Dubey over the social media post concerning Ramshankar.
In a post on X on Monday, the SP chief said a police complaint would be filed if Dubey did not remove the "false" post immediately.
"Respecting the dignity of Lord Ram, social decorum, civility and parliamentary traditions, we give the BJP MP 10 minutes to delete this false post. Otherwise, an FIR will be lodged against him immediately," Yadav wrote while tagging Dubey.
Responding to the legal notice, Dubey posted a message in Hindi on X on Tuesday, saying, "Akhilesh ji, lawyers like this are bringing you into disrepute. If you have been defamed, the legal notice would naturally have to come from you. That is what the law says. I was a member of the committee that drafted this law, so I am informed about it.
"What state have you got yourself into? Why don't you take something? At the very least, take a Vicks tablet."
Pal later responded to Dubey's remarks, citing Point 13 of the defamation notice and alleging that the BJP MP's comments had harmed his reputation.
"That after the defamatory, derogatory, offensive and casteist remarks shared by you (noticee) from your verified X account, my image has been lowered in the eyes of the general public.
