The PD (Democrat Party) leader Emil Boc announced yesterday that he would sue Social-Democrat deputy Victor Ponta for having harmed his image. He said he would ask Ponta to pay him damages reaching 1 billion ROL. The Social-Democrat deputy claimed last Monday that the PD leader had interfered in favor of Democrat Mircia Gutau, mayor of Ramnicu Valcea, so that he would not be arrested for investigations of bribe charges. The PD leader explained he had never phoned a magistrate to interfere in a case. He went on: "Mr. Ponta will have to come in front of the court and prove he was not brave enough to say he was wrong. He will have to prove he is a man in the habit of making groundless statements. He will have to pay for it." (...) (V.D.)