File Photo of former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. (Press Trust of India)
Some of the fiercest criticism of Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party or AAP has revolved around unsubstantiated claims of corruption levelled against political opponents and industrialists.
Today, it was AAP that was accused of swindling money by a group of former members and supporters; they said that AAP received 50 lakhs last year through four bogus companies that were fronts for money-laundering.
Mr Kejriwal's party said that the claims are defamatory, and that it welcomes an investigation. "We've taken all donations by cheque. If the companies raised that money through some sort of violations, then how are we responsible for that?" asked Mr Kejriwal on a townhall show organized by NDTV. "We have a BJP government (at the centre) Let it investigate, and let the strictest punishment be given," he added.
The group of activists who took on AAP today refer to themselves as AVAM (AAP Volunteer Action Manch). They alleged that Mr Kejriwal's two-year-old party is not being transparent about how it raises money and lists fake addresses of its donors on its website.
AVAM was launched in August last year, and many of its members accused Mr Kejriwal of turning AAP into a one-man show with little tolerance for criticism.
"AVAM is not an 'independent NGO'. It is a group of people who were thrown out of AAP for reasons ranging from dishonesty to criminality," said AAP's Vishal Dadlani.