A Patna court on Wednesday directed political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, to appear before it on October 17. The summons were issued in connection with a defamation case filed by JD(U) minister and national general secretary Ashok Choudhary.
The case originates from allegations made by Kishor in June, where he claimed that Choudhary paid money to secure a Lok Sabha ticket for his daughter, Shambhavi Choudhary. Shambhavi contested and won the Samastipur (SC) constituency as a candidate from Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and is now a Member of Parliament.
Prior to filing the defamation case, Minister Choudhary had sent a legal notice to Kishor. This legal action follows a separate defamation case already filed against Kishor by BJP MP from Bettiah, Sanjay Jaiswal, concerning allegations of involvement in a ‘petrol-diesel’ scam.
The recent court summons comes shortly after Kishor made further allegations last week, accusing Choudhary of purchasing land worth Rs 38 crore in Patna between his daughter’s engagement and marriage, and of amassing benami property valued at Rs 200 crore. Kishor also implicated other family members of the minister, including his wife, daughter, and son-in-law, in what he described as questionable transactions.
In response, Ashok Choudhary served a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to Kishor on Tuesday, dismissing the accusations as “baseless” and “blatant lies.” He asserted that all his property is legitimate and has been duly declared in election affidavits, while also denying the allegations against his family members as “fabricated.”
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