Soon after ousted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kapil Mishra made the startling revelation of being witness to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain offering a Rs. 2 crore to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asserted that it is time for the latter to be arrested and brought down from power.
Speaking to ANI here, Union Sports Minister and BJP leader Vijay Goel lashed out at the 'honest' AAP, alleging the party during its tenure has looted the people of Delhi.
"They fought for corruption, initially. Now corruption charges are being levied against their party leaders. This should be taken into account and Kejriwal should be arrested immediately," he said.
Echoing similar sentiments, BJP's Shyam Jaju said that since everything is out in the 'public domain', the Chief Minister who stood for 'zero-tolerance' should be expelled from power.
"Kapil Mishra submitting proof to the Lieutenant Governor is enough to show the true character of the AAP frontrunners. He has been fooling the public with the façade of being against corruption. The people of Delhi now know the truth," he said.
Apart from levying allegations on Satyendra Jain, Mishra further revealed that a deal worth Rs. 50 crore was sanctioned for Kejriwal's relative.
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"Satyendra Jain himself has accepted in front of me that he has made a deal of Rs. 50 crore for a relative of Arvind Kejriwal. I even had a discussion about this with Arvind Kejriwal, but he simply asked me to trust him. But after seeing the cash I cannot keep quiet. It doesn't matter even if I have been removed from the post. I am not going to stay quite on this issue," he said, while addressing the media here prior to meeting Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
Earlier on Saturday, shortly after being removed from the Delhi Cabinet, Mishra said he may have been axed for saying he would submit the names of those people involved in the tanker scam to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB).
"It has nothing to do with the MCD polls, and till now, I have not received any official confirmation so far. But I met Arvind Kejriwal this morning, and I said that it has been a year since the report on the tanker scam was tabled and no action has been taken," Mishra told ANI.
"I had told him that I will submit the names of the responsible persons to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB)," Mishra added.
However, sources close to Kejriwal claim that Mishra did not meet the Chief Minister and neither had he submitted any papers related to the tanker scam.
"I have also written a letter to the ACB and have sought appointment from them. I will expose everyone involved in the scam and will apprise the ACB," he added.
This decision came soon after the AAP suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the BJP in the recently concluded MCD polls.
Recently, a rift developed within the party after Amanatullah Khan had alleged that Vishwas was planning a coup against Kejirwal. Vishwas had threatened to quit the party before Kejriwal and other senior AAP leaders managed to assuage his hurt feelings and appointed him in charge of the AAP's affairs in Rajasthan.
Mishra was believed to be close to Vishwas. Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "Water management was not up to the mark. Kapil Mishra made a lot of effort. The Chief Minister decided to bring in Kailash Gahlot in his place."
Speculation and rumors, however, are afloat that axing of Mishra from the Delhi Cabinet was an attempt by Chief Minister Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia to send a veiled message across to the Vishwas camp that to quell any sort of dissent.