Kolkata: Days after BJP state IT cell chief Amit Malviya filed a defamation suit against Santanu Sinha over his social media post, the Kolkata-based lawyer on Tuesday said that he was only cautioning the leader against being honey-trapped.
Sinha, a RSS worker, said his social media post, accusing Malviya of sexually harassing women while he was staying in West Bengal, was not aimed at tarnishing his image.
“I want to give a clear message that the post was not aimed to malign Malviya but as caution not to get entangled in a honey trap, which was first brought to light by Tathagata Roy, ex-president of the State unit and former governor of Tripura,” Hindustan Times reported quoting his purported Facebook post.
He however refused to withdraw his earlier post and said, “No corner in the post there is any whisper about sexual exploitation of women by Amit Malviya. Rather I have there expressed my fear that Malviya will be drawn to a honey trap by the unscrupulous leaders of the party to remain clung to their post despite such debacle in the recently held election.”
He added that Congress was spreading a hate campaign against BJP and Malviya.
“I am not saying Amit Malviya did misconduct with women or exploited them. I have just raised question- will the Bengal leaders keep their posts by supplying women to leaders like Amit Malviya or other? We did see such things happen in Bengal earlier. In 2021, we had cinema actors having no relation with politics and they were given tickets. But I will stick to my allegations that there are some men in Bengal BJP, who are enjoying posts by supplying women to leaders,” he told India Today.
His statement comes a day after Congress demanded Malviya’s removal from the state IT cell head post in a press conference.
“An RSS member, Shantanu Sinha, related to BJP leader Rahul Sinha, has said that the BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya, has indulged in nefarious activities. He indulges in the sexual exploitation of women. Not just in 5-star hotels but in BJP offices in West Bengal. The only thing that we seek from the BJP is justice for women,” Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said.
Malviya filed a defamation case against Sinha on Saturday, demanding an ‘unconditional apology’ and Rs 10 crore as civil damages.
