PATNA: Days after a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader sought details about the funding of the Jan Suraaj Party, its founder and political strategist, Prashant Kishor, on Monday disclosed his income sources, stating that he earned Rs 241 crore as consultancy fees over the past three years.
“Jan Suraaj Party’s funding is transparent and clean. I worked as a consultant and charged fees for my work. I earned Rs 241 crore in three years, paid Rs 31 crore as GST and Rs 20 crore as Income Tax, and donated Rs 98.5 crore to Jan Suraaj Party through cheque,” Kishor told the media.
He acknowledged that the party also received donations from others. “Before seeking assistance, you start with yourself. I have done nothing wrong despite questions about my sources of income. I want to clarify that there is no wrongdoing in Jan Suraaj Party,” he added.
Addressing comparisons with politicians with tainted pasts, Kishor said he came to Bihar with a clear vision. “I have not come to Bihar to make money. Every rupee I have earned is accounted for under government scrutiny. I will stay in Bihar for the next 10 years until the system changes,” he said.
Kishor admitted to receiving Rs 11 crore from a company seeking his consultancy for a product launch and challenged the Central government to probe his earnings through the ED or any other agency, stating, “I am ready to face inquiry.”
Regarding his sources of income, he said, “Whatever I earn from my intellect, I want to spend on the state’s development,” adding that he joined active politics solely to reform Bihar.
“I have come with a clear vision, and there will be no deviation. I planned meticulously before entering politics, so nobody should assume I will leave the state. I stand by my commitment to the people of Bihar,” he said.
He asserted that he would rather die than side with corrupt politicians, accusing leaders of both the RJD-Congress-led Grand Alliance and the BJP-JD(U)-led NDA of corruption and public fund misappropriation.
Earlier, BJP MP Dr Sanjay Jaiswal had sought details about the funding of the Jan Suraaj Party.
On allegations against JD(U) minister Ashok Choudhary, Kishor said he would next reveal details of Choudhary’s benami property worth Rs 500 crore if he did not withdraw a legal notice and issue a public apology. “I have given a week for him to withdraw his Rs 100 crore legal notice and apologise publicly. If he fails, I will reveal his benami property worth Rs 500 crore,” Kishor stated.
He also sought clarification from the Vaibhav Vikas Trust, which purchased property worth Rs 100 crore over the past one and a half years in Patna. Kishor asked trustee members, including Jiya Lal Arya (retired IAS), Anita Kunal (wife of former IPS Kishore Kunal), and the mother-in-law of incumbent chief secretary Pratyaya Amrit, to clarify the source of funds used for the property acquisition in Patna.