Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): IAS officer Smita Bharadwaj, wife of TV serial Mahabharat-fame actor Nitish Bharadwaj, has termed the harassment allegations by her husband as 'false, malicious, and devoid of any facts'.
Smita Bharadwaj is currently serving as the additional chief secretary for food, civil supplies, consumer affairs, sports, and youth affairs. She is also chairperson for the MP warehousing and logistic corporation and chairperson for the State Civil Supplies Corporation.
Speaking to the Free Press Journal, officer Smita Bharadwaj said that her husband wanted her to leave the job, and when she disagreed, he called for a divorce.
"Nitish wanted me to quit my job. When I did not agree, he asked for a divorce. And, when I got ready for divorce, he asked for money for consent divorce, which I denied. And then he started playing a victim card."
'Nitish never paid school fees of my children'
Notably, a few days ago, actor Nitish Bharadwaj, who played actor of Lord Krishna in TV serial Mahabharat, accused his wife of not letting him meet their kids.
When asked to shed more light on the matter, the IAS officer maintained that the father has been always provided with unrestricted access for visitation with the children. However, his actions have repeatedly obstructed such access.
She further said that Nitish Bharadwaj met the children on February 17th 2024, after he had met them in Pune on January 2, 2024.
"On February 13, 2024, Nitish Bharadwaj purposely avoided meeting children. And a day later on Feb 14, he held a press conference, alleging I was not letting him to meet the children, without even considering the impact on the kids. On Saturday, 17th February, 2024, Nitish met his daughters at our residence in the presence of family friends as well as the police officer. The visit lasted for about 30 minutes, at the end of which the daughters were left in tears."
Recalling the past events, Smita said , "Since birth, the father has provided zero financial contribution towards the expense of bringing up children. Neither he has ever paid the school fees nor provided any maintenance amount to support them, despite the legal obligation."
'Will protect my daughters till my last breathe'
She further said that the matter is still in the court. "My daughters are more than my life. And I will protect them till my last breathe at any cost."
