NEW DELHI: Sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra today accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of taking Rs 2 crore from his cabinet colleague, a charge refuted by Deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
The allegation by Mishra, who was sacked from the AAP dispensation last night, came amid growing rumblings in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Mishra, whose surprise sacking came days after he sided
with senior party leader Kumar Vishwas who has been at loggerheads with the AAP leadership, said he has given a statement to Lt Governor Anil Baijal regarding various irregularities seen by him during his two-year stint as a Cabinet minister in the Kejriwal government.
"I saw with my own eyes Satyendar Jain giving Rs 2 crore in 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 his memorial at Rajghat here.
He also alleged that Jain, the Health and PWD minister in AAP government, told him "personally" that he had "settled a land deal of Kejriwal's relative". "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."
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the allegations of corruption levelled by Mishra did not merit a response. "His allegations do not merit a response. He has been sacked due to poor performance," Sisodia told reporters.
"The allegations are so absurd and there are no facts," he added.
However, Mishra claimed that he was removed after he put pressure on the party leaders over matters of "corruption" that have been taking rounds for quite some time.
"I want to ask if it was so, why did not Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia say it earlier. If they were fooling people when they were talking about work don
e by their government in developing water supply in the city," the former Delhi Water minister said.
For a long time, talks about different types of "corruption" involving fundings, Punjab elections and Delhi government have been making rounds, he said.
"I saw some of it with my own eyes but I believed in Kejriwal and felt no one can corrupt him. The cases of money laundering, black money and appointment of daughter of a minister (Jain), luxury bus scheme, CNG fitness test scam, all these were in his knowledge and I always believed he will take action."
He asserted that he will fight "corruption" while remaining in the AAP and no one can throw him out from the party.
"AAP is my party, no one can throw me out of the party. We will sweep corruption away from the party and I have come here (Rajghat) to begin this work," he said.
Mishra asserted his honesty saying he was a minister in the Kejriwal government for two years but faced no corruption charges
"I am the only minister in Kejriwal government who has no corruption cases against him and who is facing no CBI or ACB probe and who has not appointed his daughter or relative on any post," he said.