[BREAKING] This is what Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said on the reported meeting with Suvendu Adhikari [READ STATEMENT]

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta denied meeting BJP leader and Narada scam accused Suvendu Adhikari.

Mehta told Bar & Bench that Adhikari had indeed come to his residence to meet him.

He was at that time in another meeting in his chamber and his staff, therefore, requested Adhikari to wait and also offered him a cup of tea.

After the meeting got over, Mehta through his PPS conveyed to Adhikari about his inability to meet Adhikari who obliged and left.

Below is Tushar Mehta's full statement:

"Shri Suvendu Adhikari did come to my residence cum office yesterday at around 3:00 PM, unannounced. Since I was already in a pre-scheduled meeting in my chamber, my staff requested him to sit in the waiting room of my office building and offered him a cup of tea. When my meeting was over and thereafter my PPS informed me about his arrival, I requested my PPS to convey Mr Adhikari my inability to meet him and apologise as he had to wait. Mr Adhikari thanked my PPS and left without insisting to meet me. The question of my meeting with Mr Adhikari therefore did not arise."

The response by Mehta came after three MPs from All India Trinamool Congress wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking removal of Mehta from the post of Solicitor General on the ground that he met Adhkiari.

The MPs in their letter said that Adhikari is an accused in various criminal cases of cheating, illegal gratification and bribery and was caught on camera taking bribes in a sting operation in Narada case.

The Solicitor General is the second highest law officer and advises government and its agencies on crucial legal matters including the Narada case which is being investigated by the CBI, the MPs pointed out.

Meeting the accused in that case is in direct conflict of interest with the statutory duties of the Solicitor General, the letter said.

Hence, to avoid any doubt in the minds of the public regarding the integrity and neutrality of the office of Solicitor General, necessary steps should be initiated for Mehta's removal from the post, the MPs requested.