Bihar minister Ashok Choudhary on Tuesday slapped a legal notice on Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, asking him to tender an "unconditional apology" for defamatory remarks or face a civil suit seeking Rs 100 crore in damages.
Mr Kishor, in a press conference here on September 19, accused Mr Choudhary of being involved in an irregular land deal worth Rs 200 crore.
Mr Choudhary, a key aide of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and a national general secretary of the JD(U), challenged Mr Kishor to come up with "proof" or tender "an unconditional apology... publicly in a press conference".
In the notice sent on behalf of the minister, his lawyer Kumar Anjaneya Shanu has asked the former poll strategist to "either provide proof to support your allegations or issue a written and oral unconditional apology, publicly in a press conference".
Mr Kishor has been charged with having "caused irreparable harm and besmirched the reputation" of Mr Choudhary, and warned of "a civil suit for damages amounting to Rs 100 crore" if an appropriate response to the notice did not come within a week of receipt of the same.
The Jan Suraaj Party founder had alleged that Mr Choudhary had bought "benami properties worth Rs 200 crore" through his close relatives and a trust with which some of them were said to be associated.
Notably, the development has come barely three months after a defamation suit filed at a court here by Mr Choudhary against Mr Kishor upon being accused of having bribed Union minister Chirag Paswan for securing a ticket for his daughter Shambhavi, who is the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP from Samastipur.
In the seven-page-long notice, Shanu reminded Mr Kishor of the suit, with the remark: "Instead of course correction, you have attacked my client with a new set of wild, frivolous and defamatory allegations".
Mr Kishor, a former national vice president of the JD(U), who was expelled from the party for indiscipline more than five years ago, has been charged with "running a motivated campaign" against Mr Choudhary.
The Jan Suraaj Party founder, who hopes to take Bihar by storm in the upcoming assembly polls, has been accused of having "besmirched the reputation and standing" of the minister "to attain relevance in state politics.
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