New Delhi, January 21: Two women from the Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi have sent a defamation notice to Bharatiya Janata Party IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya for calling them paid agitators. The women, along with hundreds, have been protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for over a month. Through the notice, the Shaheen Bagh protesters sought an apology and Rs 1 crore in damages from Amit Malviya. Shaheen Bagh Protesters Help Ambulance to Pass as Cops Stand and Watch, Shows Video.

Sharing a video on Twitter, Malviya claimed that the Shaheen Bagh protest is sponsored by Congress and that the women are paid anywhere between Rs 500 to 1,200 for sitting at the protest site. The video showed a teenager who was explaining how the women who come to the protest site are paid and provided with other facilities. The BJP leader claimed that the more hours each woman sits at Shaheen Bagh, the more money she makes. Shaheen Bagh Protesters Observe Two-Minute Silence In Solidarity With Kashmiri Pandits.

Miffed by the allegations, two protesters - Nafisa Bano of Zakir Nagar and Shahzad Fatma of Shaheen Bagh - have sent the defamation notice to Malviya through advocate Mehmud Pracha, India Today reported. The notice alleged that Malviya's actions comprise an offence under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (Punishment for defamation) under which a convict faces jail up to two years and fine.

"By making and propagating false allegations against the protesters and casting aspersions on their motivations, you, the addressee, and other entities, have not only played a fraud on the general public but have also attempted to bring disrepute to the protesters who are bringing the attention of a large number of people on the issues being pressed by this extraordinary exercise of Constitutional freedom," read the notice.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 21, 2020 08:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).