Bihar Minister sends Rs 100 crore defamation notice to Prashant Kishor

Patna, Sep 23 (IANS) The war of words between Bihar Rural Work Minister Ashok Choudhary and Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has now entered the legal arena, with the BJP leader issuing a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to the political strategist-turned politician.

The minister has demanded an unconditional written and public apology within seven days, failing which he has threatened criminal proceedings and a civil suit for damages.

In a strongly worded statement, Choudhary dismissed Kishor's allegations of massive property irregularities as baseless, misleading, and politically motivated.

He said, "The false and baseless statements made by Prashant Kishor have deeply hurt me and my family. This kind of despicable politics at a family level is condemnable. Prashant Kishor should publicly apologise for this."

On September 19, Kishor held a press conference alleging that Choudhary purchased 23 katthas of land in Bikram, Patna, in 2021 through his personal assistant, Yogendra Dutt, and later transferred it to his daughter, Shambhavi Choudhary, who is also the Samastipur MP.

Kishor further claimed that the land was bought for Rs 200 crore through the Manas Vaibhav Vikas Trust, and alleged suspicious financial transactions between Choudhary's wife, Nita Keskar Choudhary and his sister-in-law, Anita Kunal, wife of retired IPS officer Late Acharya Kishor Kunal.

The minister called these charges a blatant lie, clarifying that the property in question was legally purchased by Shambhavi Choudhary on February 21, 2021, using her own income and resources, and that the details were clearly disclosed in her election affidavit.

"The question of benami property does not arise. All claims about banking transactions involving my family are completely false and misleading," Choudhary said.

The minister added that he has no connection with any trust mentioned by Kishor and accused the Jan Suraaj chief of attempting to mislead the public due to political desperation.

"Prashant Kishor lacks political integrity and a vision for public service. His entire political foundation is based on lies and deception," the minister said.

Choudhary revealed that he had already filed a defamation case earlier this year, following which the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Patna had issued a summons to Kishor to appear in Complaint Case No. 6989/2025 on October 17, 2025.

According to Choudhary, Kishor's fresh allegations were made in panic after receiving the court notice.

--IANS

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