Citing 'sting' video, BJP accuses AAP of selling MCD tickets

New Delhi [India], November 21 : BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra on Monday attacked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over a purported sting video, claiming that the party was "selling" tickets for the upcoming Delhi civic elections.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital on Monday, the BJP leader alleged that AAP leader Bindu Shriram was told to pay Rs 80 lakh for getting a ticket to contest the December 4 polls to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
"AAP leader Bindu Shriram, who was hoping to contest ward no 54, Rohini-D, was asked to pay almost Rs 80 lakh for a ticket by party officials concerned with MCD polls. She told them that she will pay the amount in three installments of Rs 21 lakh, Rs 40 lakhs, and Rs 21 lakhs. But she was asked to pay the whole amount at once," he said.
He further alleged that the entire incident was recorded by the AAP leader.
"The money was supposed to go to Atishi, Gopal Rai, Durgesh Pathak, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Adil Khan. Bindu recorded the entire incident where she was asked to pay the amount at one go," Patra claimed.
Earlier, on October 14, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the national capital arrested three persons for allegedly accepting a bribe in exchange for a ticket for the MCD elections.
One of the arrested persons was identified as Om Singh, who was said to be the brother-in-law of AAP's Model MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi and his associates Shiv Shankar Pandey alias Vishal Pandey (Tripathi's personal assistant) and Prince Raghuvanshi.
The arrests were made after AAP worker Gopal Khari accused them of demanding and accepting a bribe in exchange for a MCD ticket for his wife.
The accused persons were arrested under sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and section 171 (E) of the Indian Penal Code.
The police informed that the complainant, Gopal Khari, approached ACB claiming that he met Akhilesh Pati Tripathi requesting a ticket for his wife and sitting AAP councilor from ward number 69, Kamla Nagar, Shobha Khari.
He alleged that the accused persons demanded Rs 90 lakh for the same. He paid Rs 35 lakh to Tripathi and Rs 20 lakh to Wazirpur MLA Rajesh Gupta, while the remaining Rs 35 lakh was to be paid after receiving the ticket, police said.
Khari added later that he could not find his wife's name in the AAP's candidates' list released on November 12, police informed.
According to the police, Khari, in his complaint, mentioned that Om Singh had contacted him after the AAP's list of candidates was released on November 12 and promised to provide him with an election ticket in the next elections.
Khari had also submitted audio and video recordings of the alleged deals made during the bribe payment, police said.
The team of the Anti-Corruption Bureau laid a trap at Khari's residence and caught the trio red-handed. According to the police, the accused had come to return the bribe amount on the behalf of the Model Town MLA.
However, AAP refuted all the allegations and Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said that the recent arrests by the Anti-Corruption Bureau "prove" that AAP does not sell tickets.
"Even if someone is paying money for a ticket and someone else is taking it, tickets are not sold in AAP. This is what this sequence of events has proven. Someone paid money for a ticket and someone took it as well, but none was actually sold." Sisodia said.