Blackmailing allegation, LIC transfers, and a defamation lawsuit: Mapping the ugly dispute between BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and former finance secy Subhash Garg

A WAR OF WORDS between BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg took an ugly turn, with the two exchanging serious allegations over an alleged meeting in 2018. While Garg has accused Dubey of approaching him to get certain work done through the chairman of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the BJP MP has publicly denied that any such meeting took place.

The confrontation, which started from Garg’s critique of India's economic performance and the government's GDP figures, has now escalated into a legal battle with Dubey filing a defamation lawsuit. The BJP MP from Jharkhand is seeking ₹2 crore in damages and an apology from the former secretary over his remarks.

The Delhi High Court, which heard the civil defamation suit on October 27, also recorded Garg's undertaking to get the allegedly objectionable portion of the podcast muted. Here's how the dispute unfolded.

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How did the Nishikant Dubey-Subhash Garg dispute begin?

The dispute stems from Garg's criticism of the government's GDP growth figures in September 2026. When the Centre announced that India's GDP had grown by 7.8% in the first quarter of the financial year 2026-27, Garg challenged the official data. He pointed to revisions in the older GDP figures following the introduction of the new GDP series that inflated this year’s figures. The former finance secretary argued that the government had not adequately explained the revisions and the real GDP growth would have been around 2.6%.

Garg’s remarks prompted a response from Nishikant Dubey. The BJP MP from Godda constituency, Jharkhand, shared a letter he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 3, 2018, questioning Garg's approach to India's macroeconomic policy.

In the letter, which Dubey shared on X, he had called for a review of Garg's economic framework, arguing that the emphasis on fiscal consolidation and numerical targets needed reconsideration. He had advocated for greater public investment to boost economic growth.

Garg calls Nishikant Dubey a “blackmailing kind of person”

The controversy took a personal turn after Garg appeared in a podcast hosted by journalist Shalini Kapoor Tiwari, uploaded on YouTube on September 16, 2026.

In a major allegation, the former finance secretary alleged that Dubey had visited his office in 2018 seeking Garg’s intervention with the LIC chairman over a matter involving transfers and contracts. Garg claimed that he refused to act on the request, pointing out that LIC did not fall under his direct administrative control and that Dubey should approach the Department of Financial Services (DFS) instead. He further alleged that the BJP MP subsequently attempted to exert pressure through other official channels, leading to the 2018 letter that Dubey shared on X.

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Garg went on to describe Dubey as a "blackmailing kind of person", triggering an angry response from the MP. Dubey rejected the allegations, claiming that he had never visited Garg's office or approached him for any transfer or posting-related favor. In a post on X, Dubey said that he has been a Lok Sabha MP since 2009 and had no reason to approach a government secretary for such work.

Nishikant Dubey files ₹2-crore defamation suit

The dispute between the two finally became a legal battle on September 21, 2026 when Nishikant Dubey issued a legal notice  to Garg. The parliamentarian demanded an unconditional apology within seven days, the withdrawal of the allegations and the removal of the podcast and related clips. According to the media reports, the notice also sought disclosure of the documentary evidence supporting Garg's claims.

However, the former secretary refused to retract his statements and maintained that his account of the alleged interaction was truthful.

After Garg publicly refused to apologize, Dubey escalated the matter by initiating civil and criminal defamation proceedings against the former Finance Secretary. On September 29, 2026, the BJP MP announced that he had filed a criminal defamation case before the Patiala House Court and a civil defamation suit before the Delhi High Court. According to Bar and Bench, the civil suit sought ₹2 crore in damages, an unconditional apology, injunctions restraining further allegedly defamatory remarks and the removal of the disputed content.

The controversy also drew in Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, who shared Garg's podcast clip on X and described Dubey as a "fake degree kism ke aadmi" (a kind of person with fake degree). She was also named in the civil defamation proceedings, according to The New Indian Express.

On October 27, 2026, the Delhi High Court issued summons to Garg and Moitra. During the hearing, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela objected to the use of the word "blackmailer," describing it as derogatory. According to media reports, Garg's counsel testified in court that they will contact the podcast host and have the relevant portion muted or blocked. Moitra's counsel also assured the court that she would remove the X post attacking Dubey’s education.

However, the court did not decide whether Garg's allegations about the alleged LIC-related interaction were true or false. As per the Delhi High Court's October 27 order, the matter is scheduled to be taken up before the Joint Registrar on January 5, 2027, and before the court on February 1, 2027.

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