The drama with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took a new turn on Saturday as party MLA Sanjeev Jha tried to hold a counter hunger strike outside the residence of suspended party member and former Delhi minister Kapil Mishra. Jha was later detained by Delhi Police for trying to 'break public peace'.

According to police officials, Jha had not taken prior permission from the police to sit on a hunger strike. The Burari legislator was taken into custody as he, along with around 30 supporters, went to protest outside Mishra's Civil Lines residence.

"We have detained Sanjeev Jha, as he attempted to break the public peace. He and his supporters have been kept at Sarai Rohilla Police station," a senior police official said.

"Delhi police took no action when Kapil Mishra sat on a dharna, but when I tried the same they detained me. The police, the Centre and Mishra are hand-in-glove. I will continue my hunger strike against Mishra wherever the police take me," Jha said minutes before being taken away by the police in a bus.

Police officials countered that Jha did not have permission for the sit-in hunger strike. "He could have gone to Jantar Mantar or Rajghat to do the strike. Nobody would have stopped him."

On Saturday morning, Jha, in a letter to Mishra, asked him why he hadn't yet submitted any proof of this alleged transaction that the former AAP minister had claimed to have seen. Mishra had earlier claimed that Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had taken Rs 2 crore in cash from Satyendar Jain infront of him. In his letter, Jha, referring to the Rs 2 crore allegation, told Mishra, "It appears that you're lying."

"You tell us, at what time and in which vehicle did you go to the chief minister's (Kejriwals) house. Also tell us, did you get there first or did Satyendar Jain?" Jha asked in the letter.

Replying to Jha's letter, Mishra said the 'details' he has were his 'strength', and that he did not want to lose this advantage by making them public.

"I will be sharing some important documents tomorrow (Sunday). You have to sit on a hunger strike because of me. I would suggest you to drink a lot of water and take care of yourself," Mishra said.

The former AAP minister has been on a hunger strike at his residence for the past four days demanding that Kejriwal reveal the source of funding of the foreign trips of five AAP leaders —Sanjay Singh, Ashish Khetan, Satyendar Jain, Raghav Chadhha and Durgesh Pathak — in the last two years.

Mishra was removed as a Delhi minister and was later suspended from AAP after he levelled corruption charges against Kejriwal.

Analysis

With the 'Mishra' drama not ending anytime soon, the party is hurtling from crisis to crisis with no relief in sight. There are possibilities that fed up with the party's image; a faction may be lured away by other parties if Kejriwal is not able to set his house in order soon.