Star Plus has decided to get tough with Rakhi Sawant over the allegations she has hurled against it. The controversy queen had alleged that rigging in the voting was the reason she and boyfriend Abhishek lost out to eventual winners Aamir Ali and Sanjeeda in Nach Baliye-3. The channel has demanded a public apology from Rakhi.

Reacting to the charges, channel head Keertan Adyanthaya said: "This is just a publicity stunt. This jodi is using the media for their own nefarious purposes. They are making allegations against Star Plus without any basis or a shred of evidence. It's a ploy for them to remain in the news. They have still not contacted the channel or the producers directly with any issues they have, but are using the media. These are all just hollow allegations.

"They are nothing but poor losers, I feel sorry for them that they have to resort to such public pleading to remain in the news. It's a case of 'grapes are sour'. As far as we are concerned, the show ended on Saturday night, but it looks like the show and its associated glitz & glamour are hard to leave behind for some people.

"We expect a public, unconditional apology from Mr Awasthi & Ms Sawant."

Regarding the police case that Rakhi has filed against Star Plus, Adyanthay said, "As far as the police case goes, firstly, it is not a case against Star Plus but against some unknown parties who have allegedly voted using some software. The case is based on a newspaper report and not on any rock solid evidence. If the police do decide to investigate, we will cooperate fully with them if they approach us. But I don't think the police will be misled into investigating such frivolous cases."

We await firebrand Rakhi's response.