Ajit Jogi seeks high command's nod for defamation suit against Ch'garh Cong chief

Raipur: After an audio recording revealed that he was purportedly involved in fixing an Assembly by-election in Chhattisgarh, senior Congress leader Ajit Jogi on Sunday said he had sought permission of the party high command to file a defamation suit against the state Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel. “In a letter to AICC president (Sonia Gandhi), I have sought her permission to file a defamation suit under both civil and criminal laws against Baghel,” Jogi said. “Baghel’s remark regarding the audio tape, which is doctored and fake, has tarnished my image. He publicly made inappropriate comments against me which is a violation of the party constitution,” Jogi said at a press conference. [caption id=“attachment_2569224” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ajit Jogi. File photo. PTI[/caption] Baghel declared the audio tape to be authentic without any scrutiny, Jogi said, asking how he came to the conclusion. The telephone conversations in the tape, purportedly between the Chief Minister Raman Singh’s son-in-law Puneet Gupta, Ajit Jogi, his son Amit, Jogi ’loyalists’ Firoz Siddiqui and Ameen Memon, revolved around rigging of the bypoll to Antagarh Assembly seat in 2014. Congress candidate Manturam Pawar, considered to be close to Jogi, withdrew from the fray just a day before the last date for withdrawal. Pawar was later expelled from the party. The tape suggests that the money changed hands in the affair, facilitating BJP candidate’s victory. Baghel had claimed that the party was aware of Jogi’s role in Pawar’s withdrawal. Jogi said that in another letter to the high command, he also revealed who hatched the conspiracy to tarnish his image. PTI