A company owned by the Meghalaya government on Saturday filed a criminal defamation suit against Trinamul national spokesperson Saket S. Gokhale for his “false and defamatory” claims in a December 4 media release “against” the state government, the firm and government officials.

Gokhale, who was arrested twice by the Gujarat police this week, has responded by filing a complaint with the East Khasi Hills district police against Meghalaya deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong for calling him a “psycho” on December 6, a statement “covered extensively by the media in Meghalaya as well as nationally”.

Accusing Tynsong of committing criminal defamation against him, Gokhale has urged the police to register his complaint for criminal defamation.

A Meghalaya government media release issued on Saturday evening said the Meghalayan Age Limited — a company set up specifically for the implementation of externally aided projects, promotion of tourism, organising tourism events and preservation of heritage — filed the criminal defamation suit against Gokhale for his “claims” in a December 4 press release.

The government release, signed by the commissioner-secretary of the state planning department, accused Gokhale of “making false and defamatory statements in the print/electronic media” against the company.

In a statement on December 4, Gokhale had claimed “immense financial irregularities” amounting to Rs 632 crores in the Meghalaya Ecotourism Infrastructure Development Project.

The statement claimed that the “irregularities” had happened under the Meghalayan Age company “spearheaded” by IAS officer D. Vijay Kumar, who is the company’s CMD and Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma’s “top aide”.

The defamation suit against Gokhale follows his arrest by the Gujarat police this week in connection with a tweet on Narendra Modi over the Prime Minister’s visit to Morbi after the bridge collapse that left 135 people dead. Gokhale has received bail in both cases.

Meghalaya has a coalition government headed by the National People’s Party(NPP), an ally of the BJP.

The defamation suit has been filed ahead of Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee’s proposed two-day visit to the pollbound state from December 12. Trinamul is the principal Opposition party in the state and is trying to position itself as a key contender for power in the polls to be held next year.