Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Wednesday tendered an “unconditional apology” to the former BJP president, Nitin Gadkari, for alleging in 2010 that he owned a benami property in the Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai. Mr. Tewari submitted his letter apologising and withdrawing his statement in the court of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Mumbai.
“I state that in future, I will never put you in disrepute by making any comment with regard to the Adarsh Society,” the letter from the I&B Minister read. During a media briefing in November 2010, Mr. Tewari, who is also a Congress spokeserson, had alleged that Mr. Gadkari owned a benami flat in the Adarsh Society. After the apology, Mr. Gadkari moved the court to withdraw the criminal defamation suit he had filed. “In the light of the unconditional apology tendered by Mr. Tewari in the court, Mr. Gadkari on Wednesday moved the Additional Metropolitan Court to withdraw his petition,” the BJP said.