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A senior Assam minister has threatened news portal Tehelka.com with a defamation suit for alleging that he had paid a state government employee to make public the news of her secret marriage to former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.
Sarat Borkotoky said he would file a Rs 50 million defamation suit against the web site if it did not withdraw the report.
The Congress was elected to power in May defeating Mahanta's Asom Gana Parishad in the assembly elections.
The web site accused Borkotoky of paying Rs 1.5 million to Sanghamitra Bharali for making public the news of her 'marriage' to Mahanta in Bombay in March.
Mahanta, who has temporarily stepped down as the AGP chief in the wake of the bigamy charge, denies the marriage took place.
"If tehelka.com fails to respond to my legal notice within seven days then the matter would be taken to court," Borkotoky said.
The New Delhi-based web site confirmed that it carried the report but refused to comment on the defamation threat.
Meanwhile, top leaders of the AGP are likely to quit the party by September 6 to ensure an 'impartial and objective' discussion on the bigamy charge and accusations of rape made against two former AGP ministers.
The decision comes in the wake of angry protests by several senior and middle ranking leaders who demanded that action be taken against those whose names have been linked to the scandals.
Earlier in August, police arrested 50-year-old Rajendra Mushahary, a former AGP minister, on charges of raping a minor tribal girl.
Another former AGP minister, Jatin Mali, has been accused by his 21-year-old maid of raping her in May.
Party leaders say the charges have tarnished the image of the AGP and hence the need to restructure the party to redeem its standing.
"The allegations, although a political conspiracy, have affected the image of the party," senior AGP leader and former minister Zoii Nath Sharma said.
"From top to bottom, there is a need for change in the AGP to give the party a new direction, mainly after the poll debacle in May," Sharma added.
Indo-Asian News Service
EARLIER REPORT: Sex scandals haunt AGP leadership
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