PATNA: Sparks continue to fly between RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and JD (U) MLC Neeraj Kumar as the latter continued to stick to his allegations that the former deputy chief minister ‘underreported’ his income as MLA, calling it a ‘salary ghotala’.
Tejashwi has slapped a legal notice on JD(U) leader Kumar, accusing him of defamation and seeking Rs 12.10 crore in damages besides “unconditional public apology”.
In the notice, the allegations have been called “frivolous” and aimed at tarnishing the reputation of Yadav who was a “rising star of Indian politics” and enjoyed a substantial following across various social media platforms.
Kumar had accused Tejashwi of having under-reported his income and called it a “salary ghotala”. The JD(U) leader has also been accused of having made remarks about Yadav’s father and RJD president Lalu Prasad, which were “not only grossly defamatory but also deeply offensive”.
JD (U) leader alleged, “When Tejashwi holds no post, his income increases and when he is the Leader of the Opposition, his income reduces. When Tejashwi was holding no post in 2014-15, his annual income was Rs 5,18,019 and as soon as he became an MLA, his annual income reduced to Rs 1,41,750.”
“Why did Tejashwi declare his salary as nearly Rs 11812 in the affidavit, whereas the basic salary of MLAs and MLCs is more than Rs 40,000," he asked.
On Sunday, the JD (U) leader commented on ‘X’, “As per the election affidavit of 2020, Tejashswi is accused in 11 cases, which are registered from Kotwali to Delhi. Do you also want respect? I am not going to be scared of your legal notice. Just now the ‘salary scam’ has been exposed. Wait, your name and scams are going to be linked,” he claimed.
“Preparing to write 'Thug Granth' and will also reply to the notice. But the answer to this question has to be that before becoming an MLA, the monthly income was Rs 42,335 and after becoming an MLA, it has come down to around Rs 11,812. How?” he asked.
JD (U) leader has been asked to pay Rs 12 crore in damages, besides a sum of Rs 10 lakh towards the cost of the notice, in addition to issuing an unconditional public apology "within 10 days" of receipt of the same failing which legal proceedings would be initiated against him before an appropriate court under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyay Samhita.