The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday demanded “immediate sacking or resignation” of Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in connection with the removal of whistleblower Haryana cadre Indian Forest Service officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi from the post of Chief Vigilance Officer at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Addressing a press conference, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal presented documents and file notings of the Minister and the Prime Minister’s Office in order to “expose the real reasons behind the removal” of Mr. Chaturvedi from the post.
Mr. Kejriwal alleged that the IFS officer was removed because he brought corruption cases of a senior IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre who worked as Deputy Director of Administration in AIIMS to light. The IAS officer is very close to a very senior BJP leader, he alleged.
“We have released the documents from PMO and Union Health Ministry which nail the lie of the Health Minister that the charge of CVO was taken away from Mr. Chaturvedi since he did not fulfil the eligibility criteria laid down by the Central Vigilance Commission for the post,” said Mr. Kejriwal. “The IAS officer against whom Mr. Chaturvedi had initiated the complaint is close to a senior BJP leader. The BJP leader had complained about Mr. Chaturvedi several times, but his complaints were examined and rejected.” “The whistleblower officer had started taking action against the IAS officer, which is why CBI could register cases against him. Because of these cases, the IAS officer could not become Chief Secretary of the State,” he added.
Mr. Kejriwal demanded intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this matter.
Dr. Vardhan, however, defended his decision over Twitter on Friday evening to remove the AIIMS CVO. Mr. Kejriwal, however, said the logic given by Dr. Vardhan that Mr. Chaturvedi’s appointment required the Central Vigilance Commission’s approval was “wrong”.
The AAP leader added that there were attempts to remove the IFS officer as the CVO from Day One.
“Under influence of some powerful vested interests, there were attempts to remove Mr. Chaturvedi within a few months of his posting. The fact that the CVC has put Mr. Chaturvedi’s name on its website and has been accepting his reports in many vigilance cases, shows that his appointment has since been accepted by the CVC,” he argued.
“Why did Dr. Vardhan remove the officer now when that issue had been settled long ago? The CVC’s approval is merely a formality. Mr. Chaturvedi’s work has been appreciated by everyone, including the Parliamentary Standing Committee,” he added.
