The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday said tapes relating to a sting operation featuring eight of its leaders were doctored, and demanded that website portal 'mediasarkar.com', which did this expose', hand over the unedited footage to the party for verification.
AAP leader Yogendra Singh Yadav said the party would be filing a case of criminal defamation against 'mediasarkar' on Monday, for attempting to malign the image of the party and its leaders.
"We had said that within 24 hours we would conduct an investigation and come to a conclusion. We wanted to see the unedited footage and hear the version of all those featured. CEO of mediasarkar Anuranjan Jha was asked on the phone to make the unedited footage available, and he asked us to send him a formal email, which we sent, and asked him to send the raw footage by today 11 a.m.," he told media here today.
He further said that no footage has been made available and there has been no reply to the emails sent by AAP.
"This was not done in national interest, but to defame AAP. Our suspicion is now being cemented that these tapes are doctored. We went through the CD again and again, and found that a lot of things have been edited out," he said.
Yadav asserted that AAP would lodge a complaint with the Election Commission over this issue, and also appealed to the poll body to take stern action against the website.
"If the Election Commission finds any member of AAP guilty, ticket of that candidate will be cancelled," he added.
He also said that the party would approach the News Broadcasters Association and the Press Council to complain against all those channels that aired this footage without investigating its authenticity
"AAP reiterates that it will not stand for any wrongdoing. I would request channels to also verify the authenticity of the tapes before airing them," he said.
Earlier in the day, CEO of the web portal mediasarkar.com, Anuranjan Jha, was quoted by various television channels, as saying: " We will not hand over the tape to the AAP. Representatives of AAP can come to our offices to see the footage. The AAP is under public scrutiny now. What are the grounds for handing over the tape to the AAP."
A controversial sting operation has alleged that several AAP leaders, at least eight of them, were contacted for their help in the recovery of money from individuals and getting land deals done, and they readily agreed to extend their support in return of donations in cash to the AAP.
