Bhatia sues CJP for Rs 2 crore defamation

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gaurav Bhatia has filed a defamation lawsuit in the Delhi High Court seeking Rs 2 crore in damages against the Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and three of its leaders. The suit, filed against CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, coconveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, and the organization itself, alleges that the defendants published and circulated false, fabricated, and defamatory material concerning Bhatia on social media. The core of the dispute centers on an AI-generated graphic shared by Saurav Das on the social media platform X. According to Bhatia's complaint, the graphic falsely attributed remarks to him regarding Swatantra Bhardwaj, describing Bhardwaj as a "Dimagi Naxal" and alleging he was poisoned by casteism and had no connection with the BJP. Bhatia has termed these attributed statements as fake and defamatory. Bhatia's legal action follows an earlier demand for Das to remove the post and issue an unconditional apology within 24 hours.