Kejriwal sacks minister over graft charges

New Delhi, October 9

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal dismissed his cabinet colleague, Delhi's Environment and Food and Supplies Minister Asim Ahmed Khan, on corruption charges and referred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Kejriwal, who announced the decision in a press conference, claimed an audio of a purported conversation between Khan and a builder in which the former demanded a bribe prompted the decision.

First time MLA from Ballimaran, Imran Hussain, will replace Khan.

Kejriwal claimed that the Delhi government received allegations of corruption against Khan on Thursday night. Khan had allegedly demanded money to allow construction of a building in his constituency of Matia Mahal to continue.

"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. There was a mediator between the MLA and the Minister," the CM said, asking BJP to follow its example and dismiss Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for corruption.

"We will not spare anyone, be it Minister, MLA or officer.

Just give us evidence and we will remove the culprit the moment such charges are brought to our notice," Kejriwal said. 

Sources in the party claimed Khan had denied any wrongdoing.      

The Chief Minister said the action had been taken suo motu.

"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 will be suspended until the CBI completes its investigation,” he said.

"We did its preliminary assessment and prima facie, the case was found to be very serious. The complainant has requested in written not to reveal his name as there may be threat to his life," Kejriwal said.

Meanwhile, opposition parties questioned the integrity of the Delhi cabinet, with both BJP and Congress demanding a special session of the Delhi Assembly for immediately appointing state Lokayukta, a post lying vacant since November 2013.

"The party that has been formed to fight corruption is finding itself in such a position. What about the files that he (Asim) has signed over the past eight months?" Congress' Delhi chief Ajay Maken asked.

Former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who was more guarded in her reaction, said that such actions should be taken only on the basis of strong evidence.

"You cannot just accuse somebody. Our question is that if there is some proof then the step that he has taken is correct but if there is no evidence and just an information then I don't think it is fair to the minister," she said.

Former Congress MLA Mukesh Sharma demanded a special session of the Delhi assembly to discuss the corruption issue and cancellation of membership of all AAP MLAs facing corruption charges.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that Kejriwal's attempt to project the party as a virtuous organisation was ironical.

"One of his ministers has been caught red-handed taking bribe and there was no option but to sack him. When faced with a situation like this, what Kejriwal is trying do is make an even count of it," Patra said.

Former Union Minister RPN Singh said had Lokpal been there " the whole cabinet would have had to resign."        

"So many scams even when there is no lokpal. Had Lokpal been there, imagine how many of these ministers would have been in jail. Possibly whole cabinet had to give the resignation," he said.

AAP to refer Khan's graft allegations to its Lokpal    

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced on Friday that it would refer corruption allegations against Asim Ahmed  Khan to its own Lokpal to decide the leader’s fate in the party.         

AAP sources said the complainant, who requested anonymity, first approached a senior party leader with the grievance and then registered a written complaint.

"When we heard the audio, we found that prima facie Khan was guilty and we decided to take action against him," said a party leader.

Before Kejriwal announced his decision to dismiss Khan, seniors AAP leaders Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas and Delhi unit secretary Dilip Pandey met at the Delhi Secretariat.

"We will refer his case to party Lokpal who will probe the matter," AAP spokesperson Deepak Bajpai said.

Khan has become third AAP MLA and second minister to have his case investigated by the party's internal ombudsman after former Delhi Law Minister Jitendra Singh Tomar and Kondli MLA Manoj Kumar.

A decision on Khan's association with the party will only be taken after the Lokpal submits its report, the spokesperson said. — PTI