Tharoor files criminal complaint against Ravi Shankar Prasad for making defamatory remarks

New Delhi, Dec 10: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday has filed a criminal complaint against Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in Thiruvananthapuram court for allegedly making defamatory remarks against him.

Prasad had called Tharoor an accused in a murder case while commenting on a religious issue.

The controversy pertains to a tweet made by Prasad in the micro blogging site on October 28 in which Tharoor was termed as "accused in a murder case". The Law Minister also posted a voice clip of his press conference in which he had stated that Tharoor was "charge sheeted in a serious allegation of murder". He alleged that Tharoor had insulted Hindus with his comments likening Prime Minister Modi to a "scorpion on a shiv linga".

The notice further stated that the comments were made with "some oblique motives" and that the intention was to "harm, tarnish and malign his reputation and to destroy his impeccable image that he enjoys among the public especially in view of the oncoming Lok Sabha elections.''

The Congress lawmaker, who was speaking at an event in Bengaluru on Sunday (October 28), drew a sharp reaction from Prasad over his "scorpion" remarks.