 "File photo of Sandeep Kumar who was removed as Cabinet Minister by the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal")
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sandeep Kumar, who was sacked on Wednesday for allegedly featuring in a CD which shows him in a 'compromising position with two women', on Thursday denied his presence in the controversial video, saying that he was bearing the brunt of being Dalit and poor.
Demanding an investigation in the matter, Kumar cried foul and dubbed the CD episode as hoax while asserting that a conspiracy was being hatched against him.
"I am paying the price of being a Dalit. I am not in that video. Investigation must be done about the video. Like Eklavya was pulled down, when people from our community rise then some plot is hatched to destroy us," said Kumar.
"The plot was hatched ever since I installed Dr Ambedkar's statue. It is because I am poor and Dalit," he added.
A CD featuring Kumar was delivered to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's home yesterday. Half-an-hour later, he tweeted that he was sacking the minister.
According to reports, the CD shows Kumar in a 'compromising position with two women'. It also had 11 photographs.
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Meanwhile, AAP claimed that it had set high standards of probity in public life by taking quick action against Kumar. "AAP is a party of ideals. AAP has a zero tolerance policy towards corruption, scandals," deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said. "Ministers found taking bribes were removed immediately as soon as it was found. Action will be taken swiftly against any member irrespective of status or position," he told the media.
Elected from Sultanpur Majra, 34-year-old Kumar was the youngest minister in Kejriwal's original cabinet, after the Aam Aadmi Party was voted to power in February 2015. He had won the rural constituency with a margin of 64,439 votes.
