Kejriwal shielded Sheila Dixit in tanker scam: Kapil Mishra

The infighting within the ranks of AAP gets messier as Kapil Mishra challenges Arvind Kejriwal and Satyendra Jain to take a lie detector test, while AAP accuses him of reading from a script written by the BJP

As Kapil Mishra approached the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to hands over evidence against Arvind Kejriwal a day after he levelled serious allegations against the Delhi Chief Minister for allegedly accepting a Rs 2 crore bribe from health minister Satyendra Jain, the infighting within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has reached a new height. AAP leaders lashed out at the former Cabinet minister accused him of working in collusion with the BJP and Centre to defame the CM and silence the party which is emerging as a strong opposition in India. The parliamentary affairs committee of the party is set to convene a  meeting and decide the fate of Mishra who is one of its founding members. 

Following his meeting with the ACB, Mishra accused Kejriwal of delaying the investigation into the water tanker scam and said, “Now I have become a complainant and a witness in the water tanker scam…(I know) how Kejriwal and two his aides (Ashish Talwar and Vibhav Kumar) tried to scuttle the investigation and tried to save Sheila Dikshit (sic)." 

Officials within the AAP said that Mishra, who had levelled bribery allegations against Kejriwal yesterday, filed a complaint with the ACB. Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal has also sent the AAP leader's complaint against Kejriwal to the ACB. The latest conflict comes barely days after the party placated its leader Kumar Vishwas by giving him the responsibility of its Rajasthan unit and suspending the membership of MLA Amanatullah Khan. The party had then tried to project that all was well within its ranks. However, AAP leader Mishra was fired from his Cabinet position 24 hours later. Senior party leader Sanjay Singh said, “Kapil Mishra is accusing the CM just because he was stripped of his Cabinet rank after other ministers complained about the inefficiency of the minister in water management (sic).” 

The party which claims to have a zero-tolerance against corruption is in the eye of the storm because of corruption charges. However, neither the CM nor his health minister has given any clarification or responded to Mishra’s claims. “The party and all the state units, volunteers and the core committee members have full confidence in Arvind Kejriwal and we are working under his guidance,” remarked Sanjay Singh when he was asked why the party was not responding to the harsh allegations. 

Mishra has said that he saw the Delhi CM accepting Rs 2 crore in cash from Satyendra Jain at his residence and when he confronted Kejriwal, he was denied any clarification. Meanwhile, on Monday, Mishra challenged both Kejriwal and Jain to undergo a lie detector test along with him.  

Mishra, who is considered close to Kumar Vishwas, failed to gather any support from the poet-turned-politician who said, “Even Kejriwal’s enemies will not accept that he could be involved in corruption.” 

The party that is in shambles had faced rebellion from within in 2015 earlier when its leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan left the AAP to form their own party--Swaraj India. However, back then, the party was riding high on a big election win and a mammoth mandate bestowed upon it by the people of Delhi. The current situation is completely opposite because the party has lost six consecutive elections throughout India and is facing rebellion from its core members and volunteers, prompting the BJP and Congress to demand Kejriwal’s resignation.