AAP crisis: Rs 2 crore bribe charge on Kejri
DELHI DURBAR Sacked minister Kapil Mishra goes after CM, party rallies round AAP chief for now
Plunging the embattled Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) into deep crisis, sacked Delhi Water and Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra levelled serious corruption charges against chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday. The former minister and AAP leader even said that he “saw Kejriwal receiving Rs 2 crore from health minister Satyendar Jain for “political reasons”, allegations that were promptly refuted by the CM’s deputy Manish Sisodia and which have caused ripples in the Capital’s ruling party.
Kapil Mishra’s allegations come a day after he was removed as water and tourism minister. He told reporters that everyone in the party felt there are 4-5 corrupt people around Kejriwal but believed the AAP chief would correct everything. “But day before yesterday, I saw Satyender Jain giving Rs 2 crore to Arvind Kejriwal at his home. When I asked Kejriwal what is this, he refused to answer and said in politics there are some things, which I would be told later,” Mishra told reporters at Rajghat. He also alleged that Jain had earlier told him that he (Jain) had settled a land deal of Rs 50 crore for a relative of Kejriwal. “When I asked Kejriwal about it, he said this is false and I should trust him,” he added.
The AAP leader’s accusation comes at a time when Kejriwal is struggling to keep his party together after the drubbing he received in the Delhi municipal polls, with several colleagues questioning his style of functioning.
Soon after Mishra levelled the charges, the top leadership of AAP met at Kejriwal’s residence. “The kind of allegations that have been made against Kejriwal are unsubstantiated. No one will believe them. It is not worth responding to,” Sisodia later told reporters.
Another senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas came out in support of Arvind Kejriwal, saying he has known him for 12 years and even his enemies cannot imagine him taking a bribe. “We can disagree, fight or be disappointed with each other... I know Arvind for 12 years and I can say that I cannot imagine him taking a bribe or being corrupt... even his enemies cannot imagine this,” he told reporters.
But Kejriwal’s detractors bayed for the chief minister’s blood. The Congress demanded an FIR against Kejriwal. The party’s Delhi president Ajay Maken said Mishra’s claims were not mere allegations but testimony of an eyewitness warranting initiation of criminal proceedings against Kejriwal.
Social activist Anna Hazare, whose anti-corruption crusade catapulted Kejriwal to power, said he was pained to see such allegations being levelled against the CM. “It is painful for me to see what is going on in the Delhi government. It is disheartening to see my former colleague Kejriwal, facing charges of accepting money,” Hazare told reporters at Ralegan Siddhi.