Former RJD MP Sadhu Yadav Serves Rs 5 Crore Defamation Notice To Author Mrityunjay Sharma

Author and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mrityunjay Sharma has been served a legal notice by Sadhu Yadav, former Member of Parliament and brother-in-law of Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The notice is related to his comments made on a podcast hosted by Raj Shamani. In the podcast — mainly based on his book Broken Promises: Caste, Crime and Politics in Bihar — Sharma revealed multiple aspects of the infamous ‘Jungle Raj’ in Bihar of the 1990s.

Describing the role of Sadhu Yadav, Sharma recalled multiple incidents in which he played the lead role.

One of them was brutal murder of individuals named Shilpi Jain and Gautam Singh, allegedly by Sadhu Yadav and his allies. Yadav is believed to be the person who infamously did not appear for a DNA sample test called upon by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Another incident is the infamous wedding of Rohini Acharya, Lalu Yadav’s daughter and MP candidate from Saran in the recent Lok Sabha elections. Sadhu Yadav and his men are believed to have looted cars, jewellery and furniture from showrooms in Patna.

A third incident is related to firing on Jawaharlal Nehru University students, gathered to protest against the assassination of student leader Chandrashekhar in Siwan district. Sadhu Yadav is accused of ordering the firing.

Taking objections to these assertions, Bhagalpur-based law firm BP Law, representing Sadhu Yadav, has sent a legal notice to Sharma. According to Yadav, talks of his association with the claims are derogatory, scandalous and factually incorrect.

He has asked Sharma to deliver an unconditional apology and withdraw all these statements. For failure to do so, a threat of a ₹5 crore defamation suit is also there in the notice.

Sharma has reportedly claimed that the book is entirely based on verifiable sources and not personal opinions.

Meanwhile, the BJP leader has refused to apologise and drew parallels with Lalu Yadav’s rule, terming the culture of that era as a ‘culture — of hooliganism, fear and nepotism.’

“I’m definitely not going to apologise for something that’s based on facts and evidence. If they are not ashamed of doing these things, why should I be ashamed of writing about them?," Sharma was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

“Every line is referenced. There’s no imagination or speculation involved,” he said.

“If they move to court, I will fight it. There’s no question of a private settlement or backdoor apology. I have a huge volume of source material to prove every line I’ve written,” Sharma added.

Yadav has been widely known as one of the key faces of Jungle Raj in Bihar. A BJP leader and Lalu Yadav’s close friend Rajan Twari had said that the RJD supremo had forbidden his wife Rabri Devi from signing any document given by Sadhu and his brother Subhash Yadav.

Recently, he has been vouching for an image makeover through appearances on podcasts and giving clarifications for allegations against him.

In the run-up to assembly elections, the controversy could land RJD, which is also attempting an image makeover for the new generation, in a fresh perception battle.

Mrityunjay Sharma has been widely viewed on YouTube since the launch of his book 'Broken Promises'. He has attended many podacts and recently appeared for the second time on YouTuber Raj Shamani's podcast.

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