Vijender Gupta's wife to lodge defamation suite against Lamba

Under attack from AAP MLA Alka Lamba, wife of Leader of Opposition and a municipal councillor Shobha Vijender Gupta said on Monday that she would file a defamation case against the legislator for levelling “baseless allegations” against her.

The member secretary of Hardayal Municipal Public Library Shobha Vijender condemned the “vindictive speech” by the AAP MLA Alka Lamba on the heritage library.

The MLA had said that Shobha was nominated for the post of member secretary by the then Mayor Azad Singh because of her husband Vijender Gupta, who is the Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly.

Shobha Vijender said that she was nominated as the member secretary by a duly formed constitutional body comprising the mayor, Leader of opposition in North Corporation and other members. She was elected again by another committee for the second term.

“This reflects my credibility as a municipal councilor that I was elected member secretary twice by two distinguished mayors of North Delhi Municipal Corporation,” she told Deccan Herald.

“Alka Lamba said that I went with Vijender Gupta and got Rs 3 crore as grant. I have never gone to the LG with Vijender Gupta and this may be verified with the visitors register in the office of the LG. Hence Alka Lamba was lying in the temple of democracy,” she said.

Lamba alleged that out of Rs 3 crore, no money was spent on purchasing of books, she added.

“The library has not received Rs 3 crore grant till date. Her allegation is completely false. Moreover the fund has to be spent on preservation, digitalisation and face lifting of building of Heritage Library, not on purchasing books,” she added.

Lamba had said that Shobha Vijender has appointed class 7 and 9 passed "inefficient" staff since her joining, she said.

“But fact is that since the my joining not a single person is being appointed. The total strength was 104 when I had joined and now there are 84 employees with library,” she said.