Millennium Post

Tainted bizman funded AAP leaders’ foreign trip: Mishra

- OUR CORRESPOND­ENT

NEW DELHI: Firing yet another salvo at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra on Sunday alleged that a businessma­n being probed for a Rs 400 crore scam funded the foreign tours of two top Aam Aadmi Party leaders.

Delhi government spokespers­on Nagender Sharma, however, dismissed the allegation­s and said that Mishra had been given a “horribly wrong script”.

Mishra posed nine questions to his friend-turned-foe Kejriwal including whether he was aware that a Russia trip of AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh “was sponsored by a man who is being probed for a Rs 400 crore high-security number plates scam”.

Mishra also apologised to EX-AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, who were expelled from the party in April 2015 for “anti-party activities” after they questioned Kejriwal’s leadership.

They floated a new political party Swaraj India last year. He said that he was working on the directions of Kejriwal and was responsibl­e for their ouster.

While reiteratin­g that he will stay in the AAP to cleanse it, the rebel leader, who has been suspended from the party’s primary membership, invited former India Against Corruption volunteers to help him make Delhi “corruption-free” and “Kejriwal-free”.

The former minister alleged that there was a scam of highsecuri­ty number plates that came to the fore during the AAP government’s first stint and is currently being probed by the Anti-corruption Branch.

“Some of the companies that are being probed have a direct link with the person who funded their (Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh) trip,” Mishra alleged.

The AAP government had awarded the contract to a firm for high-security number plates but it was later terminated on the basis of a fact-finding committee’s report, that was constitute­d by the then Transport Minister Sourabh Bhardwaj.

Delhi government spokespers­on Nagender Sharma rubbished Mishra’s allegation­s in a series of tweets and said that Mishra had no clue of what he was talking about.

“Probe into High Security Number Plates scam was ordered by @Saurabh_mlagk in 49 days govt in Feb 2014. Then LG Jung reversed the decision.

“In Jan 2016 Delhi government again sent the HSNP file to Delhi ACB despite LG having sent the case for arbitratio­n on company’s request,” he posted on Twitter.

Sharma also said that the BJP had tried to rake up this issue in June last year but went silent when it came to know that file was lying with the Anti-corruption Branch for months.

“Poor fellow has no clue of what he’s speaking! Who is misguiding him,” he said.

The posts were retweeted by Ashutosh.

 ?? PIC/NAVEEN SHARMA ?? Kapil Mishra also invited former colleagues to make Delhi “Kejriwal-free”
PIC/NAVEEN SHARMA Kapil Mishra also invited former colleagues to make Delhi “Kejriwal-free”

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