Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Chhatarpur, Kartar Singh Tanwar contested 2015 Delhi Assembly election. Then, in his affidavit submitted with the Election Commission, Tanwar had declared his assets worth Rs 17.64 crore — of which immovable assets were Rs 7.69 crore and movable assets Rs 9.95 crore. His fleet of cars cost Rs 72 lakh. But, what about Tanwar’s unaccounted income worth Rs 130 crore that the Income Tax (I-T) department has now found? From where has it come? According to reports, people in Chhatarpur call Tanwar a ‘land shark’, who has amassed wealth by buying and selling land, especially farm houses. The Income Tax Department on Tuesday found an unaccounted wealth of Rs 130 crore with Tanwar. The department has already seized unaccounted cash and jewellery of nearly Rs 1 crore from Tanwar and his brother.

  • Tanwar’s transactions have been majorly through cash. He received smaller amounts or token amounts through cheques, whereas the bulk payment used to be in cash only. No tax was paid on this unaccounted cash, as there was no proof of any transaction taking place.
  • To avoid paying stamp duty and registration fee, Tanwar allegedly used power of attorney to buy and sell land and farm houses. In Delhi, a property can’t be registered in the person’s name who buys it, if it’s through power of attorney. Similarly, if transfer of property takes place through power of attorney, one need not pay stamp duty. This way the Chattarpur MLA evaded paying duty and fees.
  • Tanwar floated more than 30 fictitious companies to show transactions.
  •  He amassed wealth through benami properties.

Who is Kartar Singh Tanwar?

A resident of Fatehpur Beri in Chhatarpur, Tanwar, a first time MLA has a diploma in Civil Engineering and worked as a junior engineer at Delhi Jal Board (DJB). In 2005, he resigned from DJB to get into full-time social work and politics. He contested municipal election for the first time from Bhati ward in 2007 and became a corporator. He again contested in 2012 and won with a bigger margin. He was a BJP leader before joining AAP in 2014.

With over a dozen AAP MLAs getting booked for offences, the party terms this as Modi’s political vendetta against them. No sooner had the Delhi High Court given the reins of the capital to the Lieutenant Governor, that Arvind Kejriwal led government moved the Supreme Court against the ruling. With frequent cases against party members and the ongoing tussle with LG, Kejriwal led party is bound to feel the tremors with this incident even more.