Ranchi, April 20: The feud between Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta and independent MLA Saryu Roy over the allegation of misappropriation of funds from the COVID incentive scheme has taken a legal turn.

Gupta has sent a legal notice to Roy through his advocate demanding an unconditional apology within three days from the date of receipt of the notice, "or be ready to face legal consequences for tarnishing the image".

On April 13, Roy had written a letter to the Chief Minister Hemant Soren demanding action against the Health Minister accusing him of illegally taking huge financial incentives in the form of a salary for 60 persons in the health minister's cell including himself, his personal assistant and other staff.

In the legal notice, Gupta called the allegation "false and baseless news" and demanded an unconditional public apology. "Under the given set of facts and circumstances, you are therefore demanded herewith to tender your apology to my client in writing as well as by getting your apology published prominently in the same newspapers and on other media platforms where you got those false and baseless news published against my client, within three days from the date of receipt of this notice otherwise be ready to face legal consequences thereof," read the notice.

In response, Roy has issued a statement saying that the notice is not worth replying to. "Let him initiate legal proceedings against me," Roy said. Earlier, while countering the allegation of misappropriation of funds, Gupta said that Roy's allegations are baseless and beyond fact.

"Roy has accused me of illegally withdrawing crores of rupees which is baseless. The incentive was approved by the health department and the estimated expenditure for my ministry's cell was Rs 14.59 lakh. As of now, no amount has been credited to any account. If Roy has proof, he should mention to and from which bank account the money got transferred, respectively. I request Roy to come with evidence supporting his allegation," he had said.

After the controversy and heated politics over this matter, the Health Minister had announced not to take the incentive amount for his cell. "I am holding a constitutional position and having a public life is my duty. I have decided to cancel the incentive amount on moral grounds and distribute it among those who need it the most," Gupta had said.

Jharkhand cabinet had approved the proposals regarding giving one-month extra salary to health department workers and corona warriors who had worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In light of this approval, the Health Minister had written to the health department enquiring about the criteria of defining or including official and health workers for this benefit.

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