Kolkata, May 20 (IANS): Kartik Maharaj, a monk associated with Bharat Sevashram Sangha’s Baharampur unit in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, on Monday sent a legal notice to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Kartik Maharaj was recently named by the Chief Minister at a public meeting where she accused him of working on behalf of the BJP in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls and trying to influence the voters.

In the legal notice to Mamata Banerjee, a copy of which is available with IANS, Maharaj has claimed that the Chief Minister’s comments at the public meeting were baseless, false and highly libellous. In the legal notice he has sought a reply from the Chief Minister within the next four days failing which he will be prompted to take legal action.

Speaking to media persons, Kartik Maharaj confirmed the serving of legal notice to the Chief Minister and claimed that whatever she had said was baseless and false.

“She has accused me of giving calls to drive away Trinamool Congress agents from the polling booths. I have never said such things. I am a monk. I am not associated with any political party. The Chief Minister will never be able to prove her accusations,” Kartik Maharaj said.

The development surfaced just two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi at three different election rallies in West Bengal on Sunday launched a scathing attack against the Chief Minister. He said the CM has crossed all limits by maligning and threatening the saints associated with iconic institutions like Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, Bharat Sevashram Sangha and ISKCON.

Till the time the report was filed, there was no reaction from Trinamool Congress on this count. However, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, expressed gratitude to Karik Maharaj “for being upfront and courageous by standing up and raising his voice against the targeted attacks of Mamata Banerjee upon Sanatan Dharma”.