'Someone paid money for AAP tickets...': Sisodia on bribe for poll nomination. Watch
Premium- An AAP MLA and 2 others are arrested for taking bribe promising nomination of Delhi civic body polls
- ‘Tickets are not sold in AAP,’ Manish Sisodia said. Watch
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tickets are not sold, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia asserted on Wednesday and urged for a fair investigation against a party leader who was arrested on bribery charges.
For the uninitiated, AAP MLA Akhilesh Tripathi's brother-in-law Om Singh, his aide Shiv Shankar Pandey and Prince Raghuvanshi were arrested on Tuesday by Anti-Corruption Bureau for taking a bribe of ₹90 lakh from a party worker in exchange of nomination for upcoming Delhi civic poll.
Noting that money was taken, Sisodia said, "Tickets are not sold in AAP. Someone paid money for a ticket and money was taken... but ticket was not sold. It makes it clear that no tickets are sold in AAP," he told reporters. "I want an unbiased investigation in the matter..."
The incident came to light on Monday after a Gopal Khari, who stated that he is associated with the AAP as an active worker since 2014, approached the ACB with the complaint, according to an official statement on Wednesday.
Khari had met Model Town legislator Tripathi last Wednesday with a request to secure a councillor ticket from the AAP for his wife for Ward No. 69 in Kamla Nagar, the ACB said. Tripathi had demanded ₹90 lakh for it, following which Khari had paid ₹35 lakh to him.
He also gave ₹20 lakh to AAP MLA Rajesh Gupta on the Tripathi's insistence, according to a complaint. Khari had told Tripathi that the remaining amount would be paid by him after getting the ticket. But on Sunday, the complainant did not find his wife's name in the list of contesting councillors released by the AAP as the ticket from his ward was given to some other person.
Later, Tripathi's brother-in-law, Om Singh, contacted Khari and assured him that the ticket would be given to him in the next election. Singh also offered to return the bribe amount that was given, it stated.
The BJP has been in power in the MCD -- trifurcated in 2012 into north, south and east corporations and then unified this year -- for three straight terms. The civic polls are largely being seen as a three-cornered contest between the BJP, the AAP and the Congress
