Bizman’s plaint against AAP leaders

Shivani Bhakoo and Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 22

A city-based industrialist Vinod Thapar has lodged a written complaint against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, Kapil Bhardwaj and Sukhwinder Singh, alleging that all took money from him and his friends and promised to give him the ticket for 2017 Assembly elections. He said all failed to deliver on what they had promised.

Thapar alleged that the money was fraudulently taken from him and never paid back. He further stated that AAP leaders used to come to his house and ask him to host a dinner for Arvind Kejriwal. “I was told that Kejriwal will come and collect Rs 20,000 from each person. I took the initiative, collected money and handed it over to AAP leaders in the presence of many witnesses,” complained Thapar to the police.

“Besides, money was given as and when required to leaders by me and my associates,” he added. Thapar also stated that he paid bills of hotels and resorts for organising meetings in which senior AAP leaders held programmes on several occasions. Though AAP leaders had assured that bill amount would be reimbursed soon, but till date not even a penny was received by him, said Thapar.

He said, “I paid hefty bills, wi-fi rent from my pocket many times, but AAP leaders never bothered to pay back anything.” Thapar kept quiet as he hoped to get the ticket from Ludhiana. When he raised his voice, AAP leaders cut his name from the computerised list of the party.

In his complaint to the police Thapar further alleged that besides him several other industrialists were also cheated by the AAP leaders.

Thapar has also sent a copy of his complaint against AAP leaders to the Punjab Chief Minister, DGP and ADGP (Crime) for alleged harassment and blackmailing him.

AAP Version

• In a statement here, senior leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, Ahbaab Singh Grewal, and Darshan Saingh Shankar, squarely refuted the charges levelled by Vinod Thapar against national leaders. They termed these as completely false, baseless and made under a conspiracy hatched in connivance with the ruling party. 
• Both leaders claimed that the party rather had given him much respect than his stature and made him senior vice- president of the transport, trade and industry wing. Thapar was seen sharing seat on the dais with senior leadership at all important functions, they added.
• Grewal and Shankar said from the allegation of demanding Rs 2 crore for a ticket, now after three months of elections and formation of the Congress government in state clearly showed that he was speaking his master’s voice. 
• They said under alliance with AAP four seats in Ludhiana were left for the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP). There was no scope of ticket for Thapar in the city despite his campaigning for LIP candidates in Ludhiana Centre and North from where he was presenting himself as candidate,  they added. “He may be hoping for some bigger post in case AAP came to power,” they said. 
• Now, when AAP could not form government, he started conniving with the ruling Congress for some other adjustment, said Shankar and Grewal. Both the leaders added that Thapar had joined the party to fulfil his greed for a ticket or a post in government visualising that AAP would definitely form government after election, but his dream.