Asim Ahmed Khan says he has been made a sacrificial goat.
A day after he was sacked as Delhi's food minister over alleged corruption charges, Asim Ahmed Khan today rejected all allegations against him and claimed he was a victim of internal politics in the Aam Aadmi Party.
38-year-old Mr Khan, who was sacked by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly 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)... I was sacrificed to save someone big," Mr Khan said while addressing a press conference this afternoon.
"I am clean. There is a big conspiracy behind my sacking. I will expose the conspiracy against me in a few days," he added. (
Highlights of Asim Ahmed Khan's press conference)
Mr Khan also questioned the credentials of Imran Hussain, who Mr Kejriwal has appointed as the new minister, saying there were complaints made to Delhi Police against Mr Hussain.
The former food minister also said he was getting death threats over the phone.
Yesterday, Mr Kejriwal called a press conference to announce that he was sacking a minister caught asking for bribe. "I will not even spare my son, Manish Sisodia or anyone else if he is corrupt," he had declared.
Mr Khan had been accused of "nexus with a builder," Mr Kejriwal said, playing an audio recording of what he said was part of a one-hour conversation between the minister and the builder. The Chief Minister said he would ask for a CBI inquiry.
This is the second major change in the six-member Aam Aadmi Party cabinet that took charge eight months ago, and is seen as a move to preempt a controversy when many AAP lawmakers are confronting allegations.
In June, Jitender Tomar resigned as law minister after he was accused of faking his college degree. He was replaced by Kapil Mishra, who, within two months, was replaced as law minister by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.