Congress, BJP ask Kejriwal to resign after Mishra’s allegations

Sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra on Sunday accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of "massive" financial irregularities.

"It has now become clear that Arvind Kejriwal is a corrupt man," Mishra said before he fainted, apparently weakened by five days of fasting in protest against AAP's refusal to disclose details of five leaders' travels abroad.

Mishra told the media at his residence that AAP had received "crores of rupees" from "shell companies" run by people close to Kejriwal, mentioning AAP legislators Shiv Charan Goel and Naresh Yadav.

He said there were discrepancies in the money received by AAP and the amount it declared before the Election Commission (EC).

The party refuted Mishra's charges and said he was "parroting" the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Mishra demanded Kejriwal's resignation. If he didn't step down, the former water minister said he would "drag" the chief minister by his "collar" and take him to Tihar Jail.

Mishra fainted before he could share with the media documents he said proved his charges, and had to be rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, where doctors said he was stable and conscious, but suffered from “a little weakness and mild dehydration.”

Earlier, referring to one of the cases of alleged discrepancies, Mishra said AAP received ₹90 lakh as donation from a person identified as Priya Bansal of Bengaluru for 2014-15 and 2015-16, but the tax payable on her income was merely ₹4000.

"In 2014-15, AAP had ₹65,52,40,752 (₹65.5 crore) in its bank account, but the Election Commission was informed about only ₹32,46,16,662 (₹32.4 crore), while the party put only ₹27,38,71,611 (₹27.3 crore) in the public domain and told its volunteers it had no money," Mishra said.

He also held that the party had made 461 “bogus” entries.

"All this happened with the knowledge of Arvind Kejriwal as these shell companies deposited money in AAP's bank account on the same day and time in January 2014," Mishra said, brandishing a sheaf of documents.

Mishra was accompanied at the meet by a man identified as Neil Haslam, who he said had helped in “exposing” the funding.

“This is why I have been demanding foreign travel details of five AAP leaders,” Mishra said.

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said Mishra has been echoing the allegations that the BJP had voiced just before the 2015 Assembly polls.

“This is the BJP's ploy to finish AAP. It should stop questioning the credentials of AAP and Arvind Kejriwal as we have ensured all transparency while accepting funds,” Singh said.

On May 7, Mishra had claimed that he had seen Health Minister Satyendar Jain pay ₹2 crore to Kejriwal.

Congress, BJP demand Kejriwal’s resignation

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken sought a "thorough probe" into the allegations levelled by Mishra regarding "illegal" foreign funding received by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), also asking the Delhi CM to resign on “moral and legal grounds.”

"The allegations are serious. Kejriwal should step down on moral and legal grounds," he said.

Maken said there should be an investigation to trace the source of foreign funding to AAP, adding that it was "unlikely that the government agencies were unaware of it".

The Congress leader also targeted the BJP-led government at the Centre and wondered why was it not prosecuting Kejriwal and why an FIR under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was not lodged against the AAP government.

Earlier, Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Amarinder Singh had claimed that "divisive forces sitting in foreign countries" were funding the AAP.

Rubbishing claims that Mishra was acting at its behest, BJP’s spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said that Kejriwal must come clean about the allegations levelled by the sacked Delhi minister.

"Mr Corrupt has increased corruption in Delhi by leaps and bounds and this has overshadowed governance. The AAP's leadership is being questioned because it is one man's party indulging in corrupt practice and filling the coffers of his own family and people around him," Lekhi said.