Amid mounting pressure from the Opposition as well as from within his own party over allegations of corruption, senior Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar minister Ashok Choudhary has sent a Rs100 crore defamation notice to Jan Suraaj party founder Prashant Kishor.
Prashant Kishor has accused Choudhary of acquiring land worth Rs200 crore through illegal means. In response, Choudhary has demanded an unconditional apology from Prashant Kishor, rejecting the allegations outright and calling them “misleading” and the result of Kishor’s “panic and frustration.”
In the notice, Choudhary stated that the claim regarding Rs200 crore worth of property is “completely false.” He made it clear that he is not taking the matter lightly and intends to respond through legal channels rather than political rhetoric.
A few days ago, Prashant Kishor had alleged that Ashok Choudhary, a close confidant of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is “the most corrupt leader in Bihar.” He claimed that Choudhary purchased 23 kattahs of ‘benami’ (illegally held) land in Bikram, Patna, under his personal assistant’s name, which was later transferred to his daughter.
Prashant Kishor reiterated the allegations on Sunday, demanding that Choudhary publicly disclose the details of the assets he allegedly acquired.
“The details of various properties bought in the names of Ashok Choudhary’s family members have already been made public. It is now his responsibility to come forward and clarify which of those properties are genuine and which are not. If we are wrong, take action, put us in jail or file a defamation case. But if we are right, he must resign,” Prashant Kishor asserted.
JDU’s chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar has also called for a public response, stating that it is the party’s tradition for any leader facing serious allegations to address them before the people.