'Show evidence or face defamation': Vikramaditya to Kangana Ranaut over comments against Sonia Gandhi

A day after Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut claimed that the Himachal government diverting funds to Sonia Gandhi, state minister Vikramaditya Singh challenged her to prove her allegation or else face a defamation case. Singh said that her comments showed the BJP MP's "intellectual bankruptcy". 

"There cannot be a bigger foolish statement than saying that funds coming from the Centre or the state's funds for development are being given to Sonia Gandhi," he said. 

"I openly challenge BJP MP Kangana Ranaut to show proof of even Rs 1 being diverted or apologise to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for making such baseless and unwarranted allegations against her. Otherwise, the Congress will file a defamation case against her," the minister added. 

Ranaut on Sunday claimed everyone was aware that Congress-ruled state governments had hollowed out their coffers. Attacking the Himachal Pradesh government, she alleged, "They take loans and give it to Sonia Gandhi, which has made the state's coffers hollow." "If we (Centre) give disaster funds, it goes to the CM Relief Fund but everyone knows that it goes to the Sonia relief fund from there," she had said during a BJP programme in Manali. 

The minister, the son of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, said, "It hurts to say that she is not much educated and the same reflects in her statements. We all know that funds from the Centre and state development funds are spent through line of credit, draft and overdraft facilities." 

Singh, the public works department (PWD) minister, called Ranaut "out of control" and said she had been rebuked by the BJP central leadership and told not to speak on sensitive issues.

On Sunday, in a dig at Singh, whom she had defeated in the Lok Sabha elections, Ranaut said, "Acts of the son of a 'king' are known to everyone and people are tired of potholes on the roads. I would do more than possible for my area but the PWD minister should also do something." 

Earlier, Pratibha Singh had told reporters that making allegations without facts was unfortunate and anyone could understand Ranaut's mindset.

(With inputs from PTI)