Struggling to steady itself after the shock defeat in municipal elections, Delhi's ruling AAP was today hit by a scandal with a top party leader accusing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of accepting Rs 2 crore from a minister.
Kapil Mishra, who was yesterday sacked as minister, alleged he was an "eyewitness" to health and PWD minister Satyendar Jain handing over Rs two crore to Kejriwal.
Mishra also claimed Jain had told him in private conversation that he had "settled" a Rs 50 crore land deal in favour of a relative of the chief minister. The bombshell prompted calls from the BJP and Congress for Kejriwal's ouster, but AAP stood solidly behind its leader, insisting there was no merit in the allegation and that "even his (Kejriwal's) enemies will not believe it".
Mishra, who was Delhi's water resources minister before being sacked, had sided with another top leader Kumar Vishwas in his fight with Kejriwal before the two called truce.
"I saw with my own eyes Satyendar Jain giving Rs 2 crore cash to Arvind Kejriwal at his residence. When I asked Kejriwal, he said such things happen in politics and it will be revealed later," Mishra told reporters after paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.
"Jain personally told me that he had settled a land deal worth Rs 50 crore of Kejriwal's relative. When I told Kejriwal, he said that it was a lie and asked me to have faith in him," Mishra said.
According to an India Today report, he was active as a socio-economic activist before joining AAP. Here are some other facts about him:
1) He is the co-founder and co-ordinator of Youth for Justice - a Delhi-based youth action group.
2) According to his profile on the Delhi government's website, the organisation worked a lot against the exploitation of Yamuna.
3) He has worked with Greenpeace and Amnesty International.
4) He authored a book on the Common Wealth Games 2010 scam called Common v/s Wealth.
5) He came into the public eye during the anti-corruption movement when it was alleged that graft involving large sums of money took place during Common Wealth Games 2010 graft issues. Mishra was involved in exposing issues related to violation of labour law at the site of the CWG games.
6) He is the founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party and later on became the cabinet minister of Delhi after the party came to power in 2015.
7) He took his oath in Sanskrit during the swearing-in ceremony.
8) He was given the portfolios of Water, Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs, Tourism; Art, Culture and Languages and Gurudwara Election.
9) He claims to have begun the movement to get justice for Jessica Lal.
