Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday sacked Environment and Food and Supplies Minister Asim Ahmed Khan for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs6 lakh from a builder and the case has been referred to the CBI.
Khan, on his part, called his sacking a “big conspiracy” against him and said he will reveal it on Saturday. Reacting to the development, the BJP and the Congress said Kejriwal had no option but to remove the Minister as the allegations against Khan were in public domain for quite some time now. Also they demanded immediate appointment of a lokayukta.
Announcing the dismissal at a hastily called Press conference, the CM said he took the decision after verifying an audio clip and scrutinising the complaint. Flanked by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Kejriwal said Imran Hussain, the first time MlA from Ballimaran, will be the new face in his Cabinet.
Khan is the second Minister to get the boot in the last eight months. In June, the then law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar had to resign over the fake degree row. AAP MlAs Manoj Kumar, Somnath Bharti and Commando Surrender are also in the dock.
Kejriwal said he was committed to ensure corruption-free regime and that’s why he has to sack his Minister in just 24 hours after receiving audio tape wherein the Minister was asking for a bribe from a builder.
“It was not a result of media expose. There will be no compromise with corruption. The decision has been taken with a heavy heart as there was a lot of trust involved. He’s being removed till the CBI probe is on,” he said.
Kejriwal said the Government will not tolerate corruption, be it by any MlA, Minister, official, Manish (Sisodia) or even by my son. “If Manish commits corruption, I will take action, if I commit corruption Manish will take action against me. This is for the first time in the history that a Minister has been sacked taking suo motu cognizance of graft charges,” claimed Kejriwal.
Elaborating on the complaint against Khan, he said the Government had received allegations against him last night that he demanded money from a builder to continue construction of a building in his constituency of Matia Mahal (at plot number 2585 and 2586 at Shankar Gali, Asaf Ali Road).
“We received a complaint last night that a building was being built in his constituency. Its construction was stopped and money was demanded from the builder, who paid the amount. There was a mediator between the builder and the Minister,” the Chief Minister said.
Asking the BJP to follow suit, Kejriwal demanded removal of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for their alleged involvement in graft. Sources said the around one-hour-long audio clip containing purported telephonic conversation among Khan, the mediator and the builder over last one month, was given to Kejriwal by a senior AAP leader on Thursday. The AAP leader was approached by a complainant whose identity has not been revealed.
Kejriwal and Sisodia listened to the audio clip three-four times to ascertain its veracity and concluded that prima facie there was a strong case against Khan. He was summoned this morning and when confronted with the audio clip, Khan confessed to his wrongdoings, the source claimed.
However, there was no confirmation from Khan who refused to take calls or respond to text messages.
The Chief Minister later held meeting with senior AAP leaders including Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas. After the meeting, Kejriwal decided to remove Khan though some of the party leaders were of the view that his portfolios should be changed.
According to insiders, the party didn’t give Khan enough time prove his innocence.
During the onion crisis, questions were also raised against Khan.