Sting smacks of foul play, will sue portal soon: Aam Aadmi Party

NEW DELHI: Questioning the authenticity of the video footage shown in a sting operation that allegedly exposed its candidates, Aam Aadmi Party has threatened to file a defamation suit against the web portal that released the video.

AAP leader Yogendra Yadav said that the sting operation carried out by Media Sarkar portal smacked of foul play as the video footage seemed doctored and edited.

The sting operation, which featured seven AAP candidates, a party member and a volunteer, accused candidates of accepting cash donation without receipts and agreeing to settle money and property disputes in return for funds.

"The CD has made big allegations but the evidence is weak," Yadav said. "We will not take action against any of the candidates based just on this, which is why we had sought the raw video footage from Media Sarkar," he said.

The web portal, however, refused to hand over the tapes to AAP and instead submitted it to the Election Commission on Friday.


Questioning the portal's reluctance, Yadav said, " Our party's national secretary spoke to Anuranjan Jha (of Media Sarkar) on Thursday night requesting for the raw footage and he had agreed immediately. But now he has submitted it to Election Commission. This behaviour raises a lot of questions. If it was so important for them to air the sting yesterday, then they should also release the unedited tapes with the same alacrity."

Defending his decision to approach the EC, Jha told ANI: "They are the accused party here. Who are they to make such demands, why should we hand over the tapes to them?"

Jha also said he was willing to counter any legal action taken by AAP.

AAP has now requested the Election Commission to investigate the matter within 48 hours. If any party candidate is found guilty, his candidature in the upcoming elections will be withdrawn, it said.

In the video footage, a volunteer named Siddhartha, who poses as AAP candidate Shaziya Ilmi's close associate, is heard suggesting ways in which cash donation can be made without identifying the donors on the AAP website.

Disassociating herself from the incident, Ilmi told ET, "I have 30 volunteers working with me at present. You can put words into any volunteer's mouth but that doesn't mean he is speaking for me." She added that the Aam Aadmi Party issues receipts and vouchers for all donations.

AAP has stripped Siddhartha of all campaigning and party responsibilities.