Hyderabad: Deepa Dasmunshi, the Congress general secretary in charge of Telangana, has sent a Rs 10 crore defamation notice to state BJP leader N.V.S.S. Prabhakar for alleging on a Telugu news channel that she accepted a Mercedes Benz in return for favouring some of her party leaders.
Participating in a 19 February debate on TV9, Telangana BJP vice president Prabhakar alleged Dasmunshi received the car key in New Delhi “within a week of assuming the TPCC (Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee) in-charge post”. Dasmunshi, a former Union minister and widow of the late Congress leader Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, took up the post in December last year after the Congress won the state assembly elections.
The notice shared through Dasmunshi’s advocate Tuesday said, “She never received or accepted any car, much less a Mercedes Benz car, as alleged by you from any person, including any Congress leader or cadre, and no person delivered any such car to her and handed over any such key to her in Delhi or any other place.”
However, Prabhakar, a former MLA from the Hyderabad city area, told ThePrint he is yet to receive the notice. “So far, I have not received any such notice. I am also unaware of its content. Once I do, I will consult my party leaders and legal team to decide on the course of action,” he said.
On the 19 February TV show (Big Debate), Prabhakar also said, “We know who bought the car, who handed it over and on which date too.” “It is part of the Congress culture to save seats, get posts.”
When asked whether he would stick with his charges against Dasmunshi, Prabhakar said, “Such charges were levelled by Congress leaders, here, against their party in-charges earlier. Why were they not sent notices then?”
The notice, a copy of which is with ThePrint, said, “We understand the entire statement is false and without any basis. You (Prabhakar) further stated you know the name of the person who delivered that car… But for reasons best known to you, you did not disclose the name, which, indirectly, shows that your allegation is baseless and false.”
During the TV debate, Telangana Congress MLA Aadi Srinivas asked Prabhakar to withdraw the “baseless charge” immediately afterwards. Other Congress leaders condemned the statement later.
In addition to Telangana, Dasmunshi is also the in-charge of Kerala and Lakshadeep, and a Congress Working Committee member. “So far, nobody questioned or doubted her integrity whatever the capacity she worked in all over India or the states where my client is the in-charge,” said the notice, which has called upon Prabhakar to pay Rs 10 crore to Dasmunshi as compensation for defaming her within seven days of its receipt.
After the Congress victory in the 2023 state assembly election, Dasmunshi, the party’s observer for the Telangana elections, assumed the TPCC in-charge role. The Congress hopes to win 12-14 of Telangana’s 17 Lok Sabha seats in this general election.
In the notice, Hyderabad-based advocate Thomas Joseph Lloyd said on behalf of Dasmunshi, “My client accomplished her role as (the Telangana poll) observer, and she was one of the key persons in bringing the Congress party into power, which became an eyesore for many political leaders, including you.”
“Since the Congress party formed the government in Telangana, some political leaders, including you, could not digest the hard reality and started making derogatory comments against the prominent leaders of the Congress party,” it added.
Lloyd also said in the notice that Prabhakar’s statements “when properly construed and understood, would communicate a meaning and understanding, even to a common man, that my client accepted the car as a bribe to do a favour to someone, an allegation that is a blatant lie and false.”
“Many people who watched the programme, including the Congress party leaders, have called Dasmunshi to enquire about the allegations, putting her to embarrassment,” said the notice.
“Your false statements elicited both surprise and shock among the party circles, besides suspicion about the integrity and conduct of my client, which is, undoubtedly, undermined by your scandalous statements,” it added.
Saying that Dasmunshi suspected that Prabhakar made the statements for political gain with ulterior motives, the notice asked Prabhakar to prove the allegations and disclose the name of the person involved within two days of receiving the notice.
“(If the allegations are unproved), I call upon you to tender unconditional apology on the same platform, which shall get broadcast on all electronic media and published in print media,” said the notice.
According to the notice, Dasmunshi will be at liberty to initiate legal action, civil and criminal, against Prabhakar.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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