Kapil Mishra fires fresh Rs 50 crore graft salvo at Kejriwal

New Delhi: A day after alleging that Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had taken Rs 2 crores in cash from Cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain, sacked AAP minister Kapil Mishra on Monday sought a lie-detector test to check the veracity of his charge. Mr Mishra fired a fresh salvo at the Delhi CM on Monday, alleging a Rs 50-crore deal for a seven-acre plot of land in the Chhattarpur area had been arranged for the AAP chief’s brother-in-law. Later on Monday evening, the Aam Aadmi Party suspended Mr Mishra’s primary membership, a decision that was taken by the political affairs committee, its highest-decision-making body.

While official agencies are set to question Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain over his alleged links with hawala operators, the Anti-Corruption Branch will record Mr Mishra’s detailed statement after he alleged Mr Kejriwal had influenced the probe into the Rs 400-crore tanker scam. Mr Mishra visited the ACB office on Monday morning and shared evidence on the tanker scam, which dates back to Sheila Dikshit’s tenure as chief minister. “Mr Mishra has said he wants to record a detailed statement, and we will give him time. We will record his detailed statement,” ACB chief Mukesh Kumar Meena said.

Asserting that a bogus bill amounting to Rs 10 crores was made to favour Mr Kejriwal’s brother-in-law, Mr Mishra also alleged that during the Punjab polls, there was massive corruption by the AAP in distribution of tickets, including supply of liquor by party members. He also said AAP leader Sanjay Singh was involved in lobbying for overseas funding of the party.

Earlier on Monday, Mr Mishra submitted documents on the Rs 400-crore water tanker scam with the ACB. He has also sought an appointment with the CBI on Tuesday to register a formal complaint in the matter.

The rebel AAP leader also dared the AAP to expel him and asserted that he would never join the BJP. He also claimed since he has made accusations against Mr Kejriwal, he had been getting death threats from those close to the chief minister.

“Satyendar Jain told me he had arranged a seven-acre land deal in Chhattarpur for the family of Arvind Kejriwal’s brother-in-law, the Bansals. Being PWD minister, he also fudged bills up to Rs 10 crores in the department to benefit Mr Kejriwal’s relative,” Mr Mishra told reporters here.

Attacking the chief minister, Mr Mishra said that Mr Kejriwal does not want to resign. “Kejriwal’s weakness is his chair. He does not want to leave his chair. I want to ask Kejriwal if he will resign the day when Jain is sent to jail in a corruption case,” he said.

Rejecting the AAP’s allegation that he had been in touch with BJP leaders, Mr Mishra also dared the party to prove this, adding whoever raises his or her  voice against AAP leaders is called a “BJP agent”. He said he was the only one in the AAP who strongly opposed the BJP and the Narendra Modi government’s policies.

“There are four to five persons in the AAP’s PAC who are indulging in corruption. I have got to know that the PAC will throw me out of the party in the evening. I will not accept the decision of the PAC, which takes place in a closed room. The AAP is not the party of four or five persons... it is the people’s party and the people will decide who should remain in the AAP,” Mr Mishra said.

“So Satyendar Jain is giving a clean chit to Arvind Kejriwalji, and Arvind Kejriwalji is giving a clean chit to Satyendar Jain. Simply wow!!!” Mr Mishra later tweeted.

At the press conference, he also issued an email ID — letscleanaap@gmail.com — where people can complain of alleged corruption in the AAP across the world. “I challenge the AAP to make public the files pertaining to decisions they have taken in the last two years. There has been no case of corruption against me so far,” he said.

Earlier Monday, Mr Mishra said he had shared with the ACB all the evidence on to the tanker scam that dates back to Congress CM Sheila Dikshit’s tenure. “I told the ACB officials how chief minister Arvind Kejriwal deliberately delayed the report and how public money was misused. Also, I told them how Mr Kejriwal, along with his two men, affected the tanker scam probe. The government also tried to shield Sheila Dikshit again and again. The ACB will call me again for a detailed investigation,” he said.

The bombshell prompted calls from the BJP and the  Congress for Mr Kejriwal’s ouster, but the AAP stood solidly behind its leader, insisting there was no merit in the allegation. The Rs 400 crore tanker scam relates to alleged irregularities in the hiring of private tankers to supply water.

Sources said, meanwhile, that Central probe agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate, are preparing to examine Mr Jain over his alleged links with hawala operators. Mr Jain has come under the scanner of the income-tax department over alleged hawala transfers worth nearly Rs 17 crores. Sources said the agencies may also seek clarification from Mr Jain in view of the fresh allegations by Mr Mishra against him. Mr Mishra had on Sunday alleged that he saw Mr Jain giving Rs 2 crores to the Delhi CM at his residence.

Mr Jain has already been questioned by income-tax officials over alleged violation of income-tax laws. There are allegations that some hawala operators were in direct touch with the minister on his personal mobile phone and that transactions were done through some code words, sources said. It is suspected some firms allegedly linked to Mr Jain got Rs 16.39 crores from 56 shell companies of three Kolkata hawala operators. Mr Jain has, however, already denied this and said he has nothing to do with hawala operators.

Mr Jain is also under the CBI’s scanner, which had recently initiated an inquiry into alleged irregularities over the appointment of Mr Jain’s daughter Soumya Jain as an adviser in the Delhi health department. It was alleged that the health department did not follow proper procedures while appointing Soumya Jain as an adviser in the department headed by her father.