Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has apologised to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia for alleging that the former Punjab minister was involved in the drug trade in Punjab, ANI reported on Thursday. Kejriwal made the apology in a letter furnished to court.
“Now I have learnt that the allegations are unfounded,” Kejriwal said in the statement. “I hereby withdraw all my statements and allegations made against you [Majithia] and apologise.” Majithia said it was a historic moment for him personally as it was rare that an incumbent “chief minister apologised for remarks that he had made”, ANI reported.
Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party will apologise to several people after facing 20 defamation cases in court, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj told NDTV.
In July 2016, a Punjab court had granted Kejriwal bail in a criminal defamation case filed by Majithia.
In 2015, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had also moved court against Kejriwal and five other Aam Aadmi Party leaders accusing him of defamation. Jaitley sought Rs 10 crore in damages. The case is related to Kejriwal’s claims that Jaitley had misused funds and his position while he was the president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association. Jaitley filed a second Rs 10 crore suit against Kejriwal in May, 2017.
Senior Advocate Anoop George Chaudhari had quit as Kejriwal’s counsel in the case in February. In July 2017, Ram Jethmalani had resigned as the Delhi chief minister’s counsel.
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