New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday agreed before the Delhi High Court to remove a social media post in which she referred to BJP MP Nishikant Dubey as a “fake degree kism ke aadmi” (man with a fake degree), while former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said he would request a podcaster to block a portion of a video containing a controversial remark against the BJP leader.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was hearing a defamation suit filed by Dubey against Moitra and Garg over their alleged defamatory remarks against him.
During the hearing, Moitra’s counsel told the High Court that she would remove the disputed tweet but would retain her right to question Dubey’s educational qualifications. The counsel submitted that the dispute between Moitra and Dubey was political in nature and argued that Dubey should establish that his degree was genuine to counter her allegation.
However, Justice Gedela asked the counsel to obtain instructions on removing the social media post, objecting to the use of the term ‘blackmailer’ against Dubey and warning that the High Court would otherwise pass an appropriate order.
Later, the High Court was informed that the podcast featuring Garg’s remarks had been published by another person and that the former bureaucrat would request the podcaster to block the controversial portion.
Moitra’s counsel told the single-judge Bench that she would remove the tweet referring to Dubey as a “fake degree kism ke aadmi”.
The controversy involving Garg arose after he referred to an alleged meeting with Dubey during his tenure in the Finance Ministry and claimed that the BJP MP had approached him regarding certain matters.
Dubey rejected the allegation, maintaining that he had never visited the office of any Central government secretary since being elected to Parliament in 2009 and had not written any recommendation seeking the transfer or posting of an official.
The two had also engaged in a war of words over India’s first-quarter GDP growth rate of 7.8 per cent, with Garg questioning the figures and changes in the methodology used for earlier GDP calculations, prompting a sharp response from Dubey.
Garg served as Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, from July 2017 to July 2019 and briefly held the position of Finance Secretary between March and June 2019.
(IANS)
