Patna: Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishore on Saturday issued a sharp response to the Rs 100 crore defamation notice served by Bihar minister Ashok Chaudhary, dismissing it as baseless and politically motivated. His lawyer, Devashish Giri, filed a detailed reply, accusing Chaudhary of attempting to conceal facts and suppress public debate through legal pressure.
Party state general secretary Kishore Kumar said the response highlighted irregularities in several property transactions linked to Chaudhary’s family, including his wife, MP daughter Shambhavi Chaudhary, and son-in-law’s relatives. The reply questioned payments made in a 2021 land deal involving Yogendra Dutt, noting that Shambhavi, then 23 and not employed, could not have funded the purchase independently.
The reply also alleged that multiple properties were registered at undervalued prices, with documents and local accounts suggesting they belonged to Chaudhary but were purchased in the names of family members and trusts. Kishore’s team framed the allegations as issues raised in the public interest, falling under freedom of expression.
“Sending legal notices to suppress these questions is against democratic values,” Kishore Kumar said, adding that Chaudhary’s political shifts between Congress, RJD and JD(U) reflected opportunism.
The case, rooted in Kishore’s repeated corruption allegations against the minister, is expected to intensify political tensions ahead of the assembly elections.
