Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia declared Wednesday that ‘tickets are not sold in the AAP’ and called for an ‘unbiased’ inquiry after the family member of an Aam Aadmi Party MLA and two others were arrested on bribery charges.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau on Tuesday arrested MLA Akhilesh Tripathi’s brother-in-law Om Singh, the MLA’s aide Shiv Shankar Pandey and Prince Raghuvanshi on allegations they took ₹90 lakh from a party worker and promised a nomination for next month’s Delhi civic poll.
Sisodia acknowledged money was paid but said no ticket had been allotted.
“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…” he said.
Bureau chief Madhur Verma said the men were arrested with ₹35 lakh being returned to the complainant because his wife had not been nominated.
Three men, including the brother-in-law of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA, Akhilesh Tripathi were arrested for allegedly taking ₹90 lakh from an AAP worker for the party’s ticket in the forthcoming MCD elections.
According to bureau officials the complainant – Gopal Khari – approached them on Monday accusing Tripathi of having asked for ₹90 lakh for a ticket from Delhi’s Kamla Nagar.
Tripathi, the MLA from Delhi’s Model Town, was not available for comments.
Delhi votes for a new civic administration next month – an election that should have taken place earlier in the year but was delayed after the city’s three municipal bodies were merged by the centre in a move inviting political and legal challenges from the AAP and the Congress.