Bhopal: Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Wednesday deposed before a local court which is hearing a defamation case filed against her by senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.
Bharti, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, replied to 35 questions put to her in ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
After her deposition which continued for an hour, Chief Judicial Magistrate Bhubhaskar Yadav adjourned the hearing to December 1.
On September 30, the district court had stayed the non-bailable arrest warrant issued against her by the trial court for not appearing before it.
Bharti’s lawyer had said her statement could be recorded through a lawyer and her presence was not necessary.
Singh filed the defamation case against Bharti in 2003, after she, while campaigning for Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls as the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate, alleged that a multi-crore rupees scam had taken place during Singh’s tenure as the Chief Minister between 1993 and 2003.
“Digvijaya Singh has filed case against me out of vengeance after Congress under his leadership was wiped out by BJP in Madhya Pradesh and I became the Chief Minister,” Bharti told reporters while leaving the court today.
PTI