The notice stems from the daily’s front-page story claiming that the ACB would probe a ₹1,000 crore hospital scam
NEW DELHI – President of the Aam Admi Party’s Delhi chapter, Saurabh Bharadwaj, has issued a defamation notice to Hindi daily Dainik Jagran for falsely reporting that he was a minister in 2018–19. He also slammed the Delhi Lieutenant Governor’s office for wrongly mentioning his name.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Bharadwaj said that despite public clarification, the paper repeated the claim and described its report as defamatory. He also criticised the LG office for calling it a “scam” before any investigation had even begun.
“I have served a defamation notice to Dainik Jagran newspaper over a misleading report it published. On June 24, the office of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) issued a press release stating that permission had been granted to investigate a hospital-related case. Based on this release, Dainik Jagran carried a front-page story on June 25, claiming that ‘the ACB would probe a ₹1,000 crore hospital scam involving former ministers Jain and Bharadwaj’. The report further alleged that in 2018–19, both then-ministers approved 24 hospital projects worth ₹5,590 crore.”
Criticising the LG’s press release, he added, “The Lieutenant Governor’s office should not have used the word ‘scam’ in the press note. It should have used ‘alleged scam’ or ‘accusation’, because calling it a scam even before an investigation has begun.”
Clarifying his position, Bharadwaj stated, “Every journalist in Delhi is well aware that I did not hold any ministerial post in the Delhi government between 2015 and 2020. Yet Dainik Jagran wrongly identified me as a minister in 2018–19. On June 26, I responded to their false report through a press note and a video released on social media, clearly stating that I was not a minister during that period. Despite this clarification, the paper again published a similar story on June 27—this time with the editor’s byline—again calling me a then-minister.”
He asked the journalist fraternity to follow integrity and honesty in their profession.
“I want to tell all fellow journalists that I take no pleasure in pursuing legal action against a journalist or editor. I have issued this defamation notice with a heavy heart. But those in the field of journalism must also understand that an honest politician’s life involves tremendous sacrifice—not just by the individual, but their entire family,” he said.
