Telugu Desam Party (TDP) general secretary N. Lokesh, who had filed a defamation case against Sakshi, a Telugu daily, for allegedly publishing false reports on him, appeared in the court here on Thursday in connection with the hearing of the case.
Addressing the media later, Mr. Lokesh said the defendants were deliberately delaying the case by not attending the hearings on time.
“The judge has ordered the defendants to file a counter by February 28,” Mr. Lokesh said.
‘False reports’
“The Telugu daily has been tarnishing my image by publishing false reports against me even before I entered politics. The newspaper has indulged in attacks on my personal life as well,” Mr. Lokesh alleged.
The newspaper had in October 2019 published a report that ₹25 lakh had been spent on my brunches, the TDP leader said. Based on this report, two English newspapers too had filed reports on my “lavish spending on food,” he alleged.
I had issued notices to all the three newspapers. While one had tendered an apology, the Telugu daily and the other English newspaper failed to publish my rejoinder. “Hence, I filed damages for ₹75 crore against the Telugu daily,” Mr. Lokesh explained.
“I will continue my legal battle as I do not want the injustice to happen to others,” he asserted.
Alleging that his mother, though not a member of the Assembly, was insulted on the Floor of the House, Mr. Lokesh called upon the YSRCP leaders to imagine the situation if the TDP leaders decided to pay them back in the same coin.
“That is not our culture. I swear by my mother that I will not spare those who insulted her till they apologised,” he said.
