Arvind Kejriwal apologises to Nitin Gadkari, latter withdraws defamation case

New Delhi: After former Punjab Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday apologised to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari against whom he had leveled a string of corruption allegations. Gadkari had filed a defamation case against Kejriwal in 2014. Both had submitted a joint application in Delhi court seeking withdrawal of a defamation case filed by the BJP leader. “Both of us are in public belonging to different political parties. I made certain statements, without regard to its verifiability, which seem to have hurt you and therefore you have filed a defamation case against me. I have nothing personal against you, I regret the same,” the AAP convener wrote in the letter.

Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal apologises to his comments and allegations on @nitin_gadkari pic.twitter.com/W8JC80fOha

— Vikas Bhadauria ABP (@vikasbha) March 19, 2018

“Let us put the incident behind us and bring the court proceedings to a closure. I suggest we should put our energy to serve the people of this country, in the spirit of mutual respect,” he further wrote. This is Kejriwal’s second apology tendered to politician within a week. Last Friday, Sangrur lawmaker Bhagwant Mann resigned as Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab chief after Kejriwal apologised to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia for accusing him of being involved in the drug trade. The Delhi chief minister's apology drew criticism from his party leaders and lawmakers in Punjab, who said they were “stunned” by the move and “disappointed” as Kejriwal had not kept them in the “loop”. Mann announced his resignation on Twitter. The chief minister in his apology letter had said, “In the recent past I made certain statements and allegations against you (Majithia) regarding your alleged involvement in the drug trade. These statements became a political issue.” ”Now I've learnt that the allegations are unfounded. Hence there should be no politics on such issues. I hereby withdraw all my statements and allegations made against you and apologise for the same,” The Telegraph quoted him as saying. Leader of Opposition in Punjab Sukhpal Singh Khaira said that he was “stunned” by the apology by Kejriwal. ”We're appalled and stunned by the apology” extended by Arvind Kejriwal. The chief minister is said to have given an explanation behind his apology to Majithia. According to news agency PTI, Aman Arora, AAP MLA from Suna, who had attended the meeting said there was some "miscommunication. “The reason he (Kejriwal) had apologised is because he has several cases against him in many parts of the country. And some of them are in the fast track courts, he told reporters after the more than two hour-long meeting. Arora reportedly said the AAP MLAs present in the meeting were convinced with the explanation given by Kejriwal as the legal battle was draining him and the party in terms of resources.