'Will Drag You By Your Collar To Jail': Sacked Minister To Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Siphoning money, hawala transactions through hundreds of shell companies, hiding financial details from the Income Tax Department and the Election Commission -- sacked Aam Aadmi Party minister Kapil Mishra's latest salvo against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal this morning listed a huge array of financial irregularities. The dramatic series of allegations ended with Mr Mishra saying if Mr Kejriwal did not step down by this evening, he would come to his house "and drag you by your collar to Tihar jail". Minutes later, the leader, whose hunger-strike entered its fifth day today, fainted and had to be taken to the hospital.   

Mr Mishra -- who adopted an allegation-a-day strategy since his suspension from the party last week -- promised to provide documents that would substantiate each one of his charges.

"Kejriwal hid many things like hawala transactions, donations, forming shell companies, playing with taxpayers' money and hiding information from Income Tax Department and the Election Commission," Mr Mishra said at the latest media conference this morning, where he had promised to reveal "shocking details" of corruption and scam.

The Income Tax department, he said, has sent notice to Mr Kejriwal about four companies he holds fraudulently. "But he actually has hundreds of companies which he holds illegally. Lakhs and crores are in each of these company accounts," the former minister said. The money laundering, he alleged, was being carried out through a branch of the Axis bank in Delhi, where raids had been conducted after demonetisation.

Showing what he said were details of bank accounts, Mr Mishra alleged that Mr Kejriwal and his aides were converting black money to white, claiming the amounts were donations to the party. "I will take this document to the Central Bureau of Investigation at 11 am tomorrow and file a First Information Report against him," he said.

Today's allegations by Mr Mishra, though, are not entirely fresh. Former AAP member Neil Haslam, who had been sacked a couple of years ago, has levelled the same charges at the party. Mr Haslam, who used to be part of AAP's media cell, holds frequent media conferences, in which he has accused the party and Mr Kejriwal of multiple instances of corruption.  

AAP said Mr Mishra's allegations have been prompted by the BJP. "What BJP has been saying for so long, now Kapil Mishra is reiterating. Stop attempts to tarnish image of AAP and Arvind Kejriwal," senior party leader Sanjay Singh said.

AAP had mostly ignored Mr Mishra since since saying he was sacked and his charges do not merit a response. Barring a retweet now and then, Mr Kejriwal, too, has maintained silence. Party leaders have rallied around the Chief Minister - among them senior leader Kumar Vishwas, who was known to be close to Mr Mishra.