BJP MP Nishikant Dubey Demands Apology from Ex-Finance Secretary Subhash Garg Over Podcast Remarks

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nishikant Dubey has issued a legal notice demanding an unconditional apology, the withdrawal of statements, and the removal of allegations from former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg.

The Podcast and Allegations

The clash follows a podcast hosted by YouTuber Shalini Kapoor Tiwari where Garg alleged that Dubey had come to the finance secretary's office to lean on the Chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation of India to get work done, and referred to the MP as a blackmailing kind of person. Garg also discussed India's first-quarter GDP growth rate of 7.8 percent, claiming the Union Government changed past calculation methods and mentioning a missing figure of Rs 12.7 lakh crore in GDP.

Legal Demands and Warnings

Dubey has given Garg seven days to apologize in both Hindi and English across all platforms where the remarks were made, warning of criminal defamation cases under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and civil proceedings for damages if he fails to comply. The four-time MP from Godda also stated that he had never seen the finance ministry office or met former and current finance ministers Arun Jaitley and Nirmala Sitharaman.