Nagaland: Hayithung Bill Lotha files defamation case against Dy CM Patton

Former Lok Sabha candidate Hayithung Bill Lotha has filed a criminal defamation case against Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton over remarks allegedly made during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign, Hub News reported on Saturday.

In a public statement dated 31 October, Lotha said the remarks were made in speeches and interviews at Wokha town and were meant to ridicule him and damage his reputation as a candidate.

What Lotha says Patton claimed

According to Lotha's statement, Patton said that in the 2023 Assembly election Lotha had received only one vote from his native Old/New Riphiyim village, out of 3,667 votes. Lotha called this a "blatant lie".

He said that in the final days of the February 2023 campaign he had told supporters he would stay silent and asked them to vote according to their conscience, because his brother was also in the fray and he wanted to avoid splitting votes. Lotha contested from the 37th Tyui Assembly constituency.

Lotha also rejected remarks that he contested elections only to become an "ex-candidate" and enjoy police security. He said neither the Wokha nor the Dimapur Superintendent of Police had given him security personnel during the 2023 Assembly or 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

He disputed a claim that there was only one Lotha candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha race and that nobody recognised him, saying neither he nor NDPP candidate Dr Chumben Murry had claimed to represent the Lotha community. Lotha also denied that his father, Dr Thungdemo Tungoe, had not voted for him, saying his father supported him and voted at the Old Riphiyim polling station.

What happens next

Lotha said he wanted the law to take its course and was seeking Patton's conviction. The statement did not name the court where the complaint was filed or give a hearing date.

Patton, a senior BJP leader from Wokha district, had not responded publicly to the case by Saturday afternoon. The claims are Lotha's and have not been tested in court.

Under Indian law, criminal defamation is a punishable offence, and a court must first take cognisance of a complaint before summoning the person accused. NEInsider will update this story if Patton responds or the court takes up the matter.