Sanjeev Jha, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from north-east Delhi’s Burari, broke his five-day hunger strike against former Minister Kapil Mishra on Wednesday.
Mr. Jha, who went on a hunger strike to counter Mr. Mishra’s fast, questioned the latter’s allegations against the AAP and its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
The AAP MLA had claimed that he would not end his fast till Mr. Mishra revealed the details of his alleged visit to Mr. Kejriwal’s house, which is where he claims to have seen Satyendar Jain hand over ₹2 crore to Mr. Kejriwal.
Though Mr. Mishra is yet to reveal any detail, senior leaders said that Mr. Jha was ending his fast as the former AAP Minister’s “lies have been exposed”.
MLAs at Jantar Mantar
It was AAP leaders Dilip Pandey and Sanjay Singh who requested Mr. Jha to break his fast at Jantar Mantar, where he has been camping for the last three days after being removed from outside Mr. Mishra’s residence. The AAP leaders made Mr. Jha sip water to end his fast.
“His [Mishra’s] lies have been exposed. He has not been able to establish a single allegation against Arvind Kejriwal or the party. He attempted to make some flimsy ‘expose’ but it fell flat,” said Mr. Pandey.
Earlier in the day, MLAs Alka Lamba and Rajendra Pal Gautam had visited the protest site to extend their support to Mr. Jha.
“He [Jha] has taken up the cause of defending our party and our leader. He had the courage to stand up against baseless allegations and we are here to stand by him,” Ms. Lamba said.
Mr. Jha, meanwhile, told The Hindu that he would continue to question Mr. Mishra and his claims. “If he was telling the truth then he would’ve revealed details,” he said.
