Allegations are baseless, lack evidence
The allegations of corruption levelled at chief minister Arvind Kejriwal do not amount to anything until they are proven in a court of law. Therefore, they have not affected the AAP in any manner.
The allegations levelled by former minister Kapil Mishra are completely baseless and lack any concrete evidence. Unless these allegations are proved, there is no way they can cause nervousness in the party. The thing about allegations is that they can be hurled by anyone, but they do not mean anything until they are backed by concrete evidence.
The allegations of corruption levelled at chief minister Arvind Kejriwal do not amount to anything until they are proven in a court of law. Therefore, they have not affected the Aam Aadmi Party in any manner. Health minister Satyendar Kumar Jain, against whom the charge were made that he offered `2 crores to Mr Kejriwal, has already clarified that such deal never took place and he will soon file a defamation suit against Mr Mishra for levelling false allegations.
Looking at the non-serious nature of allegations, there could be no course of action per se that the party will have to take. Mr Mishra has not been able to substantiate the charges. The AntiCorruption Bureau has already rejected the evidence submitted by him on the bribery charges as “useless”. This clearly proves that the former minister does not have any solid evidence to back his allegation. Also, contrary to his claims, the Central Bureau of Investigation cannot directly register an FIR. It will have to first conduct a preliminary inquiry into the matter and we will wait for the result thereafter.
Mr Mishra has been spurned ever since he was fired from the Delhi Cabinet and has been making wild allegations ever since. He is actually speaking the language used by the Opposition to defame and belittle the AAP. If he really was committed towards the cause, why didn’t he come forward during his tenure as a Delhi minister? He has been a minister in the Delhi Cabinet for two and a half years now. Why didn’t he make the same allegations in this duration? His conduct speaks volumes about him as a person. How could such a person be believed or taken seriously? I just wish that good sense prevails on him and he stops making a mockery of himself.
The interesting thing is that ever since the controversy broke out, Mr Mishra has been changing his stance every day. First he levelled the `2-crore bribery allegation on Mr Kejriwal. Then, realising that it was not working, he made fresh charges on Mr Jain settling a `50crore land deal for Mr Kejriwal’s brother-inlaw. Now, Mr Mishra has found a new subject of foreign tours.
The party leaders have vociferously denied the allegations and have come in support of the AAP chief. The AAP claimed that this was part of a larger conspiracy to “finish off” the party and to “silence” the Opposition. Senior party leader Sanjay Singh has already told the media that the kind of allegations Mr Mishra had levelled made it clear that he was being used to harass the AAP chief and other ministers in the Delhi government.
Nobody within the AAP is taking Mr Mishra seriously on the latest issue of foreign trips that he has brought up. Even the Opposition is not taking him seriously now.
(As told to Pragya Singh)