Controversial Pasts Of AAP's Rajya Sabha Nominees: Gupta's Tax Aid, Maliwal's Flip-Flops, And Singh's Liquor Scam Case

Recently, the Aam Admi Party (AAP) announced its candidates for Rajya Sabha Polls.

It has nominated Delhi Commission For Women's Chairperson Swati Maliwal in place of businessman Sushil Gupta, while both Narain Dass Gupta and Sanjay Singh have been re-nominated for second term.

With AAP's brute majority in the Delhi assembly guaranteeing a clear win for each, in this article we have briefly surveyed the controversial pasts of these candidates.

1. Narain Dass Gupta

Narain Dass Gupta, a practicing chartered accountant had previously served as the former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

According to a report, he has been actively assisting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in handling various income tax-related matters, including notices issued by the income tax department regarding foreign funding.

His earlier nomination to Rajya Sabha along with businessman Sushil Gupta received backlash from many of the party's former leading lights and founding members such as Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Mayank Gandhi, and Anjali Damania.

2. Swati Maliwal

However, this was not the first time Maliwal made flip-flops in allegations against her family members. In 2020 while publicly announcing her divorce from former AAP leader Naveen Jaihind, she wrote on social media, "My fairytale ended. Sometimes, best of people can't stay together," but almost one and a half year later she changed her stance and wrote, "So much better to get out of a bad marriage than to suffer silently".

On 19 January 2023, DCW Chief Swati Maliwal's claim of being molested and dragged by a drunk driver in Delhi also came under scrutiny with the driver Harish Chandra Suryavanshi being alleged to have been an active worker of AAP.

3. Sanjay Singh

Sanjay Singh, a founding member, plays a pivotal role in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a member of the Political Affairs Committee and National Executive. His involvement dates back to the India Against Corruption movement in 2012, where he served as a core committee member of Team Anna and spoke on its behalf.

In January 2023, a special court in Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, issued a three-month jail sentence to him in connection with an old case filed in 2001.

Furthermore, he is implicated as an associate in the Delhi liquor scam, along with his party colleague and Deputy CM of Delhi, Manish Sisodia both of whom are under judicial custody.

A Delhi court on 6 January allowed Singh to visit the office of the returning officer on 8 January to file his nomination forms for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.