I am a victim of AAP’s internal politics, was sacked to save someone else: Asim Khan

The CM had sacked Khan after playing audio clips during the conference on Friday, where a voice — allegedly Khan’s — spoke of a Rs 6 lakh deal with a middleman in exchange for allowing the construction of a building in his constituency, Matia Mahal.

Read: Kejriwal sacks Delhi Food Minister over corruption allegations

“I was called to the CM’s office at 3.30 pm on Friday and was told to tender my resignation. From 3.30 till 6 pm, I was in a closed room with some party members and my phones were switched off. I came to know about my sacking only after I came out of the CM’s office,” said Khan.

However, he neither denied nor accepted that it was his voice in the clip. He said he was shocked that he has been accused of corruption and also claimed that the party haven’t given him the CD which contained the clip.

He added that he was a victim of internal politics and there was a conspiracy to “save” some people. Khan said he has gathered 70 per cent evidence against the conspiracy. “Once I get the remaining evidence, I will disclose all the facts. I fear someone might tamper with the facts. So I can’t disclose them now,” Khan said.

Read: Transcript of audio clip that led to Kejriwal sacking Asim Ahmed Khan

He also criticised the party for revealing only his name in the audio clip. Khan claimed that the voice of the “middleman” in the clip is that of Delhi Pradesh minority wing vice-president Shakeel Malik. “If one of the persons speaking is me, then whose is the other one? It is that of Shakeel Malik, who is also the director of the Delhi Minority Finance Corporation. Why was his name withheld,” said Khan.

He also said that his replacement, Ballimaran MLA Imran Hussain, has a case pending against him in the Anti-Corruption Branch. “A case is pending against Hussain, but I am clean. There is no pending case against me. Why was I sacked? I was sacrificed to save someone else,” he added.

Khan also refrained from divulging what transpired in his meeting with AAP leaders. “I will hold a separate press meet on that,” he said
In his defence, Khan also called the building owners from whom he allegedly demanded the bribe. Javed, the owner, said he doesn’t know why people are inquiring about his house. “People have been inquiring about my house. It is our property and the minister has nothing to do with it,” said Javed.