Whispers on the Delhi streets are damning. Was Sandeep Kumar alone in demanding and receiving sexual favours or there were other Delhi AAP leaders’ involved? Delhi media insiders suggest that though Kejriwal and Sisodia are beyond reproach, the Sex-for-Favours nexus may involve many other Delhi AAP leaders, including possibly, Sanjay Singh and Ashutosh Kumar.

Today, AAP’s sitting MLA in Delhi, retired Colonel Devinder Sehrawat, charged AAP leaders of asking sexual favours for party tickets in the 2017 Punjab assembly elections. Sehrawat named Sanjay Singh, a close confidante of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal,and its political affairs committee member Durgesh Pathak and a few others in his statement.

Yesterday, Shi romani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Maheshinder Singh Grewal asked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convenor, Arvind Kejriwal to come clean on the charges of “sexual exploitation of Punjabi women by AAP leaders”. They did not take any names though but whispers are becoming louder.

For those not up-to-date with the lurid drama unfolded last week, Sandeep Kumar, a senior AAP leader and Delhi women’s welfare minister, Sandeep Kumar, was caught in a sex sting for soliciting sex for issuing a petty public document, Ration Card.

Arvind Kejriwal understands the voters’ mindset better than most. He knew that this scandal could severely dent AAP’s image as a party with the ‘difference’ and affect his national ambition. Therefore, he was quick to denounce Sandeep and throw him out of the party. Kejriwal decided to take action when major TV channels were about to put the video on prime-time.

However, many AAP leaders blanketed Social Media- Twitter, Facebook and Blogs, in Sandeep Kumar’s defence. Ashutosh Kumar was the spearhead of this damage-limiting move.

While giving his justification, Ashutosh wrote in his blog: “Indian history is full of examples of our leaders and heroes who had lived with their desires beyond social boundaries. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s reported affairs with many female colleagues were juicy gossip but it didn’t spoil his political career. His relationship with Edwina Mountbatten is widely discussed. Gandhiji in his later days slept naked with his two nieces to experiment with celibacy.”

In effect, Ashutosh, compared Sandeep Kumar’s ‘consensus’ rape video bar-room tales about supposed sexual escapades of Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru. Such tales are common about every legend, historic or mythical, and difficult to authenticate. While they may provide irreverent fun, using them to justify a rape cannot be condoned.

Why did Ashutosh defend Sandeep in such idiotic manner. Is this because many other AAP leaders in Delhi, including Ashutosh himself, were involved in abusing power to sexually exploit the vulnerable? Delhi street are ‘convinced’. Hopefully, we will get to know for sure soon enough.