Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convener, Arvind Kejriwal sacked party member Sandeep Kumar last week after a CD containing objectionable content was sent to his office. The disk showed 34 year old Kumar in a compromising position with two women, along with 11 odd photographs.
Minister of Child Welfare and Social Justice Sandeep Kumar was the youngest minister in Kejriwal's cabinet. The decision to oust him came after a meeting was held at the CM's bungalow. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "The Delhi CM found an objectionable CD involving Sandeep Kumar. Within half an hour, action was taken. The minister was removed. AAP is a party of ideals. It has a zero tolerance policy towards corruption, scandals. Ministers found taking bribes were removed immediately as soon as it was found. Action will be taken swiftly against any member irrespective of status or position."
This is not the first time a scandal surrounding the AAP fed the media, and it most certainly won't be the last. Kumar remains the third AAP member to be sacked, following Asim Ahmed Khan who was removed on corruption allegations, and Jitender Singh Tomar, for allegedly submitting fake degree certificates.
The Aam Aadmi Party was convened in 2012, during the ongoing India Against Corruption movement launched by Gandhian Anna Hazare, along with Arvind Kejriwal and other social activists. With the growing difference in Hazare and Kejriwal's ideologies, Kejri soon moved on to create a political party. Initially launched with an aim to prevent corruption and limit nepotism, Kejri and his group soon visibly lost focus, only to be further agonised by BJP leader Narendra Modi winning the Prime Minister's chair.
Kejriwal has often been cited as an attention seeker. His open statements against the BJP, especially Modi has time and again attracted flak against him. Since the AAP's emergence in 2012, several party MLAs have been arrested for cases of forgery, extortion, rioting, criminal intimidation, assault on public servants, attempted murder, corruption,etc.
Fake Degree Row
One of the first controversies associated with Kejri's party came to light in 2015, when then law minister Jitender Singh Tomar was arrested following complaints by the Bar Council of Delhi alleging his degree certificates were forged. While the party and the CM himself defended him, the minister soon resigned his position.
A petition was filed in the Delhi High Court, right before the announcement of the election results in February last year, challenging Tomar's university degrees. The allegation was based on a RTI enquiry to which the Avadh University had replied saying it had not awarded him a Bachelor of Science. The court soon asked for more information. Problems piled up for Tomar and the AAP as in March, as the petitioner argued that the BCD could deal with the matter without recourse to the court system.
Kejriwal meanwhile defended Tomar and called for a "public trial" of the media and alleging bias against his party. During the ongoing investigations, three different universities refused affiliating his degree, the minister was remanded in police custody for four days, and his license to practise at the Bar was suspended during which he resigned as Law Minister. Tomar soon reportedly told the police that his brother helped him obtain the fake degree.
Land Grab Case
AAP MLA Manoj Kumar was arrested in connection with a case of alleged cheating and land grabbing, following which, he was arrested and interrogated for several days. The case was registered following allegations that he duped his business partner of Rs 600,000. Filed by Vinod Kumar, the complaint alleged that Manoj worked as a property dealer before venturing into politics.
A case against the MLA was filed under Sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code. The Congress party soon jumped at the opportunity, asking the case be given to the Lokayukta in Delhi. Delhi BJP also demanded immediate action against two other AAP MLAs - Akhilesh Tripathi and Sanjeev Jha, for allegedly leading an "attack" on a police station. Manoj was further dragged through dirt as an additional case of domestic violence mounted on his growing troubles.
Alleged Assault
AAP MLA from Delhi cantonment, Surinder Singh was arrested in 2015, for reportedly assaulting a New Delhi Municipal Council worker. The case came to light within two months of Tomar and Kumar's pending controversies.
Singh was booked on August 4, for allegedly beating and manhandling a worker in the Tughlaq road area when a team of NDMC officials were conducting a routine check and apprehended an e-rickshaw driver to check his documents. An NDMC member himself, he was denied bail. He maintained that he neither abused the worker, nor did his driver and employee, claiming that the workers were thrashing a local vendor.
A case under the sections of 332, 353, 367, 186, 511, 506, and 34 of the IPC, along with a section 3(10) of the SC/ST Act was filed. The police further served Singh a notice for not turning up for questioning, following which, he was declared underground.
Domestic Abuse
Former law minister and AAP MLA Somnath Bharti was next to bring face to his party for alleged offences of attempt to murder and cruelty to his wife Lipika, in a case of domestic violence. A charge sheet was filed before a magistrate and proceedings were booked for April 23.
It was said that Bharti, tried to endanger the life of their unborn child by releasing his dog at his wife. The chargesheet read, "The accused unleashed his dog on the complainant (Lipika) which bit her badly, it is pertinent to mention that the complainant was in an advance stage of pregnancy and she being further diabetic, the act by the accused not only was an attempt (to endanger) the life of the complainant but also seriously endangered the life of the unborn child which the complainant was carrying."
Bharti was given bail subject to his furnishing a personal bond for Rs 1000,000, and the a surity that he does not leave the state without prior permission from the trial court. The MLA was also asked to report in the office of the deputy commissioner of police once a week till the charge sheet was filed.
Violent Protests and Rioting
The sixth AAP MLA to be arrested, Mahinder Yadav of Vikaspuri constituency was arrested in January this year, under different charges including rioting and assault of a public servant during a protest seeking action against an alleged sexual offender. The police claimed Yadav led a violent protest in Nihal Vihar area, West Delhi, after a three year old girl was sexually assaulted.
