Kapil Mishra. Press Trust of India file photo
High drama was witnessed outside former Delhi minister Kapil Mishra’s residence on Saturday, when an AAP legislator tried to launch a counter hunger strike against the rebel leader’s bribery charges against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha reached the residence of Mishra, who has been on a hunger strike for four days demanding the source of funding for some party leaders’ foreign visits, but was detained by the police. According to the police, Jha had not taken permission to sit on a hunger strike.
Jha, a legislator from Burari, had on Friday announced he would sit on an indefinite strike against Mishra for his “defamatory allegations” against Kejriwal. Soon after his release, Jha went to Mishra’s residence again to resume his agitation.
“I am sitting on a footpath outside Kapil Mishra’s residence. They are planning to pick me up again. I do not understand why the police are so scared,” he said. Minutes later, Delhi Police personnel picked up Jha and his supporters again.
“My hunger strike will continue. I will sit on fast at Jantar Mantar. I will continue to question Mishra. When did he visit Kejriwal’s residence on May 5?” Jha said. The AAP has plunged into a turmoil since the sudden sacking of Mishra last Saturday. A day later, he charged Kejriwal with corruption, claiming he had seen Health Minister Satyendra Jain give Rs 2 crore in cash to the Delhi chief minister at his residence. Jha has demanded that Mishra come clean on the claim.