BJP Renews Attack on Prashant Kishor Over 2020 Data Case

• BJP’s Bihar spokesperson Danish Eqbal has renewed an attack on Prashant Kishor over a pending 2020 case.
• Eqbal accused the Jan Suraaj founder of serious crimes, including forgery and fraud, citing several IPC sections.
• The case was filed by a Congress worker who alleged that his campaign data was stolen and misused by Kishor for his “Baat Bihar Ki” campaign.

GG News Bureau
Patna, 8th Aug: The BJP’s Bihar unit spokesperson Danish Eqbal has renewed a political attack on Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, accusing him of forgery, fraud, and conspiracy in a 2020 case involving the alleged theft of election campaign data. The case, filed at Patliputra Police Station (Case No. 94/2020), is currently pending before the Court of Sub Judge XII-cum-ACJM, Patna.

Eqbal, addressing the media, claimed Kishor has been “exposed” and that his role “resembles that of a professional criminal.” He cited several IPC sections, including 467, 468, 471, 420, 406, and 120B, which relate to charges of forgery, cheating, criminal breach of trust, and criminal conspiracy. Eqbal accused Kishor of misleading the public with his “Baat Bihar Ki” campaign, which he alleged was based on stolen content.

The case was originally filed on February 25, 2020, by Congress worker Shashwat Gautam. Gautam alleged that he was developing his own campaign titled ‘Bihar Ki Baat,’ and a volunteer, Osama Khurshid, took a laptop containing his campaign data, strategy, and branding materials. According to the FIR, Prashant Kishor launched his similarly named ‘Baat Bihar Ki’ campaign on February 18, 2020, just a few days after the domain for his campaign was registered. Gautam claimed the timing and similarities pointed to a conspiracy between Kishor and Khurshid to misappropriate his intellectual property.

Prashant Kishor’s lawyer, Arun Kumar, has maintained that his client is innocent and was falsely implicated for political reasons. The lawyer argued that the data allegedly stolen was publicly available and that multiple similar domain names had been registered at the time, which weakens any claims of exclusivity. He also noted that Osama Khurshid, not Kishor, was the one directly accused of taking the laptop. When contacted for a comment, a senior Jan Suraaj official and media coordinator stated that “Prashant Kishor will answer on this matter in the future.”

The renewed focus on the case comes amidst an ongoing political rivalry in Bihar, where Prashant Kishor has become an active and often critical voice against both the BJP and other political leaders.