All India Congress Committee general secretary and United Democratic Front Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency candidate K.C. Venugopal, MP, on Tuesday, filed a criminal defamation case against Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shobha Surendran for making unsubstantiated allegations against him of amassing huge wealth by colluding with the mineral sand mining mafia. Mr. Venugopal filed the case at Alappuzha Judicial First Class Magistrate Court.
Ms. Surendran, who is contesting Lok Sabha polls from Alappuzha as a National Democratic Alliance candidate, last month alleged that Venugopal with the help of Sis Ram Ola, a Union Cabinet Minister of Mines in the United Progressive Alliance government, had taken bribes to the tune of crores from the mining mafia.
Terming it unfounded allegations, Mr. Venugopal served a legal notice to Ms. Surendran asking her to withdraw the charges and tender an apology. As she did not apologise, the senior Congress leader filed the criminal defamation lawsuit. Earlier, Mr. Venugopal filed a defamation complaint against her at the Alappuzha South Police Station on the same issue.
