Man claims he owns 4 firms that donated ₹2 cr to AAP
TWIST Sacked minister Kapil Mishra says he will ‘expose’ the east Delhi businessman today
In a curious turn of events in the Aam Aadmi Party funding controversy, a resident of east Delhi, Mukesh Sharma, on Thursday claimed he owns the four companies that had donated ₹50 lakh each to the party in April 2014.
As the AAP leadership, including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, promoted a report related to the individual on social media, sacked minister Kapil Mishra claimed he would ‘expose’ the man and links of AAP’s funding with hawala operators on Friday.
The AAP Volunteer Action Manch (AVAM), a breakaway faction of AAP, had in February 2015 alleged that the four donors — Skyline Metal & Alloy Pvt Ltd, Sunvision agencies Pvt Ltd, Infolense software solutions Ltd, Goldmine & buildcon Pvt Ltd —were shell companies. It accused the AAP of accepting illegal money.
The alleged ‘expose’ had provided AAP’s political opponents an opportunity to hit the party just ahead of the 2015 assembly polls. The income tax department had initiated a probe into the matter, which is still to be closed.
In a repeat of the allegations, sacked water minister Kapil Mishra said on Sunday that the AAP had been accepting ‘illegal money’ through ‘shell’ companies, including the four firms, over the past three years.
Sharma, a resident of Ganga Vihar near Gokulpuri in east Delhi, told Hindustan Times that he finally decided to reveal his identity as he realised Kapil Mishra was making ‘wrong allegations on AAP funding’ even as he underlined that he was no way connected to the Kejriwalled party.
Sharma, who claimed to be in tobacco and property business, said he is already being probed by the income tax department and was ‘open’ for further questioning. He challenged Mishra to prove him wrong legally.
“I had donated through cheque. I didn’t come out in public for two reasons. Firstly, being a ‘brahmin’, I don’t do charity for anything in return. Also, when the issue first appeared in the media, I was in Rajasthan and panicked,” Sharma said.
On the allegation that neither he nor any business enterprise was found at the registered address of the companies when the matter came to light, Sharma claimed he had ‘directed’ the occupants of the previous address not to reveal his identity as he was ‘worried’ about the fallout.
“All four companies are operational. Three are registered in Karawal Nagar, one is registered in Alipur,” he said.