Removal Was Premeditated, Says Delhi's Sacked Food Minister
NEW DELHI: Delhi's sacked food minister Asif Ahmed Khan sad his removal was premeditated and alleged that he was the victim of internal politics in the Aam Aadmi Party.
Khan, who was summarily removed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a press conference for demanding Rs.6 lakh as bribe, said the "middleman" whose voice figured in the audio tape was AAP minority wing vice president Shakeel Malik.
"I am the sacrificial goat. I am the victim of internal politics (in AAP)," Khan said at a press conference. "I was sacrificed to save someone big."
"Ever since I have said that I will do a big expose, I have been getting calls from unidentified people.I have threat to my life," he added.
The audio tape was played at Kejriwal's conference in which Khan is purportedly heard demanding Rs.6 lakh for the construction of a building in his constituency.
The former minister said he demanded the audio tape from the party, but was not given it.
"The question which arises is why the identity of a person, who is being described as a middleman (in the audio tape), is not being revealed. He is not a common man... he is not a builder ... he is not a media person. He is the vice president of minority wing of Delhi unit Shakeel Malik."
Khan also said Malik was serving as a director in one of the departments of Delhi government.
"At the press conference, in a minute the announcement of my removal was made and in another the name of some other person (as minister) was announced.
"Was it pre-planned that I was sitting in a closed room and something else was happening outside," he said.
Khan also questioned the credentials of Imran Hussain, who Kejriwal has appointed as the new minister, saying there were complaints made to Delhi Police against Hussain.
"There is no corruption charge against me. Neither is there any criminal case against me. I have a clean image. I don't know why I have been made the sacrificial goat," he said.
Calling it a "big conspiracy", Khan said he will talk to media in a couple of days with evidence.