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New Delhi, JP Nadda, the new Health Minister, confronted a controversy on his first day in office as Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party raised his alleged role in corruption in India’s premier AIIMS hospital.
Mr Kejriwal and other AAP leaders have accused Mr Nadda of a role in the removal of a vigilance officer, Sanjiv Chaturvedi, who had flagged corruption in AIIMS.
“JP Nadda got Chaturvedi removed because he wanted to protect a corrupt officer. Instead of asking for an explanation for the removal of an honest officer who exposed corruption, they have rewarded Nadda,” the AAP chief said.
In cabinet changes made on Sunday, Mr Nadda replaced Harsh Vardhan as health minister.
In August, Mr Nadda was accused of getting Harsh Vardhan to remove Sanjiv Chaturvedi, who, as Chief Vigilance officer, reportedly uncovered a string of corruption cases at the hospital.
Mr Nadda reportedly raised “discrepancies” in his appointment and also urged Harsh Vardhan to “put all inquiries initiated by AIIMS CVO Chaturvedi on hold.”
AAP says his letters to Harsh Vardhan in June are on record and have been seen by the Prime Minister’s Office.
Harsh Vardhan had justified the officer’s removal saying he was wrongly assigned the post at AIIMS in the first place; he was not eligible as the Central Vigilance Commission had not signed off on the appointment.
The BJP’s Shahnawaz Hussain hit back at AAP, saying, “JP Nadda is more honest than Arvind Kejriwal.”
One of the cases of corruption that Mr Chaturvedi reportedly raised involved a senior IAS officer who was posted at AIIMS and belonged to Mr Nadda’s home state of Himachal Pradesh.
Mr Chaturvedi had reportedly exposed the use of government funds by AIIMS officials for illicit foreign trips and th sale of illegal medicines at the hospital’s main pharmacy. He also alleged that a senior bureaucrat’s dog was given radio-therapy at the specialty cancer centre and security guards were hired bypassing proper processes for the hospital.
