Kejriwal opposed note ban due to links with hawala men: Mishra

New Delhi, May 19

Sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra on Friday made fresh charges against Arvind Kejriwal, claiming the Delhi chief minister had opposed demonetisation due to his alleged links with "hawala operators".

Mishra alleged that the AAP received money from a company of Delhi-based lawyer Rohit Tandon, whose assets worth crores have been attached by the Enforcement Directorate over alleged money laundering after demonetisation.

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"Why did he (Kejriwal) fiercely oppose demonetisation? Why did he travel across the country against the move? Because his men, who hoard black money, were being raided by enforcement agencies. His collars are in my hands and he will surely land in Tihar Jail," he said.

In his previous press interaction, Mishra had dramatically threatened to drag Kejriwal "by his collar" to Tihar.

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh trashed the charges saying the donations in question, amounting to Rs 2 crore that were made on April 5, 2014, were received through "proper banking channels".

"There was no illegality involved. It has been two years. Why have the investigating agencies failed to unearth any wrongdoing?" Singh asked.

Initially AAP had maintained that it was not aware of the source behind the amount, received in the form of four cheques of Rs 50 lakh each, which had found an oblique mention even in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech during the 2015 Delhi assembly election campaign.

However, yesterday, east Delhi-based businessman Mukesh Kumar told reporters that he had donated the amount through four of "his companies registered in Delhi".

In his press conference, citing purported documents of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Mishra claimed that Kumar was not even director in two of the four companies, which he said were "shell entities".

Shell companies are fronts that do not indulge in any substantial trade and are set-up for carrying out illegal transactions.

"Kejriwal was trying to shield one Hem Prakash Sharma, who was director in those companies. Even Hem Prakash is merely a front. It is clear as Rohit Tandon become director of one of the companies on April 10, 2014 as per ministry data," he claimed.

The four companies in question are Goldmine Buildcon pvt ltd, Infolance Software Solution ltd, Skyline Metal and Alloys pvt ltd, and Sunvision Agencies pvt ltd, said Neil Terrance Haslam, who claims to have been thrown out of AAP in 2014 for "refusing to be a sycophant".

Haslam, a self-proclaimed whistleblower who has been photographed with top BJP leaders, has been assisting Mishra in framing the allegations.

Mishra also wondered how the AAP accepted donations from Kumar when one of his companies, SKN Associates, was slapped with a notice by the Delhi government in December 2013 "for not paying VAT".

"Ten days before AAP took office in 2013, Mukesh Kumar's company was slapped a notice by the Delhi government for not paying VAT. And then this person goes on to donate Rs 2 crore to AAP," he said.

He also questioned Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia for not acting against Mukesh for defaulting on VAT after coming to power in 2013.

Kejrwal's first stint as Delhi CM ended within 49 days after he quit over the Congress and BJP allegedly blocking the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill. PTI