New Delhi: Senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, on Sunday, backed chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra is making an “incredulous” claim. He said he has known Mr Kejriwal for 12 years and even his enemies cannot imagine him taking a bribe.
His remarks came hours after Mr Mishra, who was on Saturday ousted from Mr Kejriwal’s Cabinet, alleged that he saw Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain giving Mr Kejriwal Rs 2 crore.
Seeking to reassure the AAP workers, the poet-politician said allegations like the one being made by Mr Mishra ought to be backed with the proof. “Levelling baseless allegations like this in front of media is not right,” he told reporters. After the Delhi water minister was shunted from Mr Kejriwal’s Cabinet, Mr Vishwas had merely tweeted that AAP workers must be patient and that party’s best interests will be upheld in the end.
Mr Mishra is considered close to Mr Vishwas. In fact, he had rallied behind Mr Vishwas, who had criticised the party leadership for defeats in the Delhi civic elections and the Assembly polls in Punjab and Goa.
Earlier this month, Mr Kejriwal had rushed to Mr Vishwas’s house and, in a late night meeting, managed to persuade him to stay in the party. The day after AAP chief’s nightly visit, AAP’s Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan was suspended from the primary membership of the party. Mr Khan had accused Mr Vishwas of hobnobbing with the BJP and RSS and attempting to take control of the party.
“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.
“I have called Satyendra Jain and asked him to explain his position in the party’s PAC (political aff-airs committee). Whether he is being framed or has there been a mistake, we are ready for an investigation, be it an ED or a CBI probe,” Mr Vishwas said.
He told reporters that the PAC, the AAP’s highest decision-making body, will meet either in the evening or on Monday. Earlier in the day, Mr Mishra said he gave a statement to lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal on various irregularities he witnessed during his two-year stint as a minister in Mr Kejriwal’s Cabinet.
