Row over ex-CAG Vinod Rai's claims: Sanjay Nirupam slaps legal notice, wants unconditional apology

New Delhi: Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Monday slapped a legal notice on ex-CAG Vinod Rai accusing him of defamation and threatened to launch criminal proceedings if he did not apologise for remarks that the MP had asked the former chief auditor to drop Manmohan Singh's name from 2G report.

In the notice, Nirupam's lawyer asked Rai to "tender an unconditional apology" in writing within 15 days of the receipt of the notice stating that imputations made by him against the Congress leader were "baseless, false and concocted".

"Failing which I have strict instructions to initiate appropriate proceedings against you, including criminal proceedings against you at your cost and peril," he said in he notice.

Read: Row over ex-CAG Vinod Rai’s claims: Manmohan Singh says ‘I did my duty’

The former Congress MP also took strong objection to ai's remarks that Congress MPs had used unparliamentary anguage in the PAC against the CAG when he was not present, which forced the Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi to send a ritten complaint to the Speaker about Nirupam.

Nirupam's lawyer has accused Rai of intentionally trying o "defame" the Congress leader and harm his reputation with motive to sensationalise false, contrived and concocted acts" about persons in public life, including Nirupam for making personal pecuniary gains" and to boost sale of his ook.

"The imputations made by you in the electronic and print edia have deeply dented reputation of my client in their stimation and they have started avoiding him. The reputation of my client has taken an irreparable and heavy toll due to our defamatory imputations," the lawyer said in the notice.