Prashant Kishor Vs Ashok Choudhury Battle Hots Up

Ashok Choudhary on Tuesday sent a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to Prashant Kishor and described the allegations as baseless and 'blatant lies'.

IMAGE: Bihar Rural Work Minister Ashok Choudhary and Janata Dal-United supporters offer a 75 kg Laddu to Lord Hanuman at the Mahavir temple in Patna to celebrate Chief Minister and JD-U President Nitish Kumar's 75th birthday. Photograph: ANI Photo

Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraj Party will file a case in the Patna high court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into Bihar Minister Ashok Choudhary's alleged assets and properties.

Prashant Kishor heated up politics in poll bound Bihar when he alleged last week that Choudhary had bought land worth Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion).

Jan Suraj Party Spokesperson V V Giri stated on Wednesday that his party has decided to file a case seeking a probe by the CBI or an independent agency into Choudhary's alleged assets and properties.

Ashok Choudhary, a senior Janata Dal-United leader, is considered close to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

"We will not sit quiet after making serious allegations of corruption against Choudhary," Giri, a senior lawyer and Jan Suraj Party vice president, said.

"A Jan Suraj Party team is studying to prepare a detailed case and will petition the Patna high court to order a CBI probe," Giri, who is considered close to Prashant Kumar, added.

Last week, Prashant Kishor alleged that Ashok Choudhary had bought land worth Rs 38 crore (Rs 380 million) in Patna before his daughter's engagement and marriage. He had also amassed property worth Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion), Kishor alleged.

Ashok Choudhary on Tuesday sent a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to Prashant Kishor and described the allegations as baseless and 'blatant lies'.

The Bihar minister stated the property that he possessed was legitimate and had been disclosed in his election affidavits.

IMAGE: Jan Suraj Party leader Prashant Kishor during his Bihar Badlao Yatra at Raghopur in Supaul. Photograph: ANI Photo

Earlier, Prashant Kishor alleged that Ashok Choudhary paid large sums of money to secure a Lok Sabha ticket last year for his daughter Shambhavi Choudhary.

Shambhavi contested the Lok Sabha election as the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) candidate from the Samastipur (scheduled caste) constituency and won. She is one of the youngest MPs in the current Lok Sabha.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff