Kapil Mishra vs AAP: Four Big Charges, But No Concrete Defence Yet

Kapil Mishra is on a mission to disprove Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘incorruptible’ tag.

Sacked AAP minister Kapil Mishra and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. (Photo: The Quint)

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

Addressing a press conference, Mishra “exposed” Kejriwal’s alleged wrongdoings with a powerpoint presentation claiming how a number of shell companies run by the AAP and its members reflected financial corruption.

AAP was quick to rubbish all claims made by Mishra in a press conference held by party spokespersons Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha.

Here are the four big allegations made by the sacked minister and the AAP’s counter to them.

Charge 1: Hawala at Midnight

Kapil Mishra claims Aam Aadmi Party’s accounts received four donations of Rs 50 lakh each (total Rs 2 crore) from shell companies just before the 2015 elections. The allegation was first made by former AAP member Neil Haslam, who was seated next to Kapil Mishra during Sunday’s press conference.

“This investigation into AAP’s financial irregularities has been conducted by Neil, who came to me with his findings while I was sitting on fast.”

AAP’s Defence

When the allegation had first surfaced, AAP claimed ignorance about who had transferred the Rs 2 crore into the account. But Neil Haslam claims to have traced the source of the money to shell companies controlled by AAP leaders. No fresh clarification has been offered by the party on the benami companies.

Sacked Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra faints during the press conference on Sunday. (Photo: IANS)

Charge 2: AAP Converted Black Money to White

Kapil Mishra said that a large number of suspicious cheques and cash transactions were routed through Axis Bank, which, he reminded everyone, was raided during the demonetisation drive for allegedly converting black money to white.

He produced three “undated” cheques – one of Rs 21 lakh and two of Rs 35 crore, from the same “shell companies” which transferred Rs 2 crore to AAP’s accounts. Names of these companies as claimed by Mishra are – Infolance Software Solution Ltd, Goldmine Buildcoin Private Ltd, Skyline Metal and Alloys Pvt Ltd and Sunvision Agencies Pvt Ltd.

AAP MLA Kapil Mishra fainted while he was showing cheques during a press conference on revelations on AAP’s finances. (Photo: PTI)

AAP’s Defence

In the press conference convened shortly after the allegations were made, AAP’s Sanjay Singh suggested that Kapil Mishra had produced unauthenticated cheques.

He showed you two cheques, but who do they belong to? I can also present cheques in the BJP’s name. But who’s to prove their authenticity?

On the insinuation that the AAP was converting black money to white through Axis Bank, Raghav Chadha asked if all those who held accounts in the bank were also guilty by association.

Charge 3: AAP Lied About Donations

Kapil Mishra claims the Aam Aadmi Party has shown its total income as Rs 27,48,71,611 on its website, but told the Election Commission that it had received donations worth Rs 32,46,16,662. Claiming knowledge of AAP’s bank account statements, Kapil Mishra says the party actually received Rs 65,52,40,752 from various sources.

The sacked AAP leader also claimed that the party had made 461 bogus entries into the party ledger and that crores had been transferred into the party’s account from shell companies under fake identities.

AAP’s Defence

Aam Aadmi Party claims they have received several notices from the income Tax department, but the government’s investigation had failed to yield anything substantial against the party so far.

AAP’s Sanjay Singh (second from left) and Raghav Chadha (second from right) address a press conference countering Kapil Mishra’s charges. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@deeps_aap)

Charge 4: Foreign Tours

Kapil Mishra sought the details of foreign trips of AAP leaders like Sanjay Singh, Ashish Khetan, Raghav Chadha, Satyender Jain and Durgesh Pathak by Wednesday morning and threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike if the AAP failed to do so.

I want to know which countries did they visit, where did they stay, who paid for it, who did they meet and what deals did they strike.

AAP’s Defence

Aam Aadmi Party claims no foreign trips were made by any of the leaders on the exchequer’s expense. In his defence, Raghav Chadha said, “I was studying in London a long time before the Aam Aadmi Party came into existence. My family is able to afford foreign trips. But my recent trip to London was sponsored by the UK government who invited ten youth leaders. But Kapil Mishra claims all this was funded by back money.”