On Friday, Chandigarh Police DSP Dilsher Singh Chandel filed a criminal defamation plea against Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu for his comments on police personnel. Sidhu, at a political rally in Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district on December 18 had mocked the Police personnel while he praised Congress MLA Navtej Singh Cheema.
“Navtej was so strong that he could make a police officer wet in his pants and party workers should be like Navtej”, he had said, a video clip of which had gone viral attracting criticism from netizens. The plea has been filed by Chandigarh DSP through advocate Dr Surya Parkash in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate.
Chandigarh DSP Dilsher Singh Chandel files criminal defamation plea against Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu in court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, saying the politician had failed to tender unconditional apology for his comments against police during a rally in 2021
— ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2022
According to the reports, the copies of the notice had been sent to all the alternative addresses of Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu, two of which were returned unclaimed with a note, ‘Navjot Singh Sidhu is not here, please don’t send’. However, two have been served upon the purpose.
While the matter is scheduled for hearing on Monday, advocate Dr Surya Prakash said that the criminal defamation plea against Sidhu proceeded as he failed to apologize for his comments even after the notice was issued. “His comments demoralized not even the police personnel but also the personnel of defence services”, he was quoted.
Reports mention that the notice was sent to all his four residential addresses but was served only at two places, the Punjab Congress Bhavan and the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Punjab.
It is important to note that this is not the first time that DSP Chandel had sent a defamation notice against Sidhu. Earlier, on December 28, he had sent him a defamation notice and called the remarks against the police as humiliating. As Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Daljit Singh Cheema slammed Sidhu for his comments saying that it was disrespectful for men in uniforms, he issued a clarification saying that the comment was not to be taken literally.
He reportedly repeated the same comment at a rally in Batala while praising local leader Ashwani Sekhri and stated that it’s a way of saying the Congress ‘wields authority’. Chandel, who is attached with the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) of Chandigarh police had also released a video condemning the incident and said that remarks by Sidhu are shameful. “It is very shameful that such a senior leader uses these words for his own force and humiliates them. This is the same force which protects him and his family,” Chandel had said in a video message.
#WATCH | It’s very shameful that a senior leader insults police force that provides him protection. Without police, even a rickshaw puller won’t obey their instructions: Chandigarh DSP Dilsher S Chandel on Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu’s remarks against police (25.12) pic.twitter.com/W1EjjhTkLs
— ANI (@ANI) December 25, 2021
He also had dared Sidhu to return the security detail and affirmed that ‘without security force, even a rickshaw puller will not listen to him’. Navjot Singh Sidhu is all set to fight elections this time from the Amritsar East seat with Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former minister Bikram Majithia contesting on the other side.
The 2022 Legislative Assembly elections will be held in Punjab on February 20 to elect the 117 members of the 16th Assembly of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. The votes will be counted and the results will be declared on March 10.
