Sacked Delhi minister Mishra no stranger to controversies

Image
Press Trust of India New Delhi
Last Updated : May 07 2017 | 10:02 PM IST
Kapil Mishra, who was sacked from the post of Delhi Water Minister yesterday, was one of the most active faces of the AAP government, with a penchant for controversial statements.
Mishra (36), who had volunteered for the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement, quickly grew through the ranks and emerged as one of the most promising young turks of the Aam Aadmi Party, with a pronounced right-wing ideological tilt.
Mishra represents the Karawal Nagar constituency, a seat he had won by over 40,000 votes in the 2015 Delhi Assembly polls.
Incidentally, his mother Annapurna Mishra is a known face in the Delhi BJP circles.
Mishra was inducted as a minister into the seven-member AAP cabinet in February, 2015. He was soon given the additional charge of the Law Department, only to be relieved of the portfolio within a couple of months.
Across his tenure as a minister, Mishra had repeatedly raked up the issue of an alleged Rs 400-crore water tanker scam, which he claimed involved former Congress chief minister Sheila Dikshit and even "a few people in the AAP government".
Kejriwal had constituted a fact-finding committee to probe the allegations in June, 2015. The report of the committee was submitted to the Delhi government in August, 2015, recommending an FIR against Dikshit.
The then Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had forwarded the report to the Anti-Corruption Branch which, in turn, had lodged FIRs against both Dikshit and Mishra.
Even on the day of his sacking, Mishra had written to ACB chief MK Meena, claiming that there were certain "new facts" related to the "scam", which he would like to share with him.
Tech-savvy and media friendly, Mishra had fired salvos at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on numerous occasions. He had courted controversy by terming the prime minister as an "ISI agent" after last year's Pathankot terror attack.
The fissures between Mishra and the AAP leadership started developing in the aftermath of the party's recent string of poll defeats. Mishra had sided with Kumar Vishwas, distancing himself from Kejriwal's allegation of EVM manipulation in the elections.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: May 07 2017 | 10:02 PM IST

Next Story