AAP slams Narendra Modi-led government over health minister berth to JP Nadda

NEW DELHI: AAP today slammed the Narendra Modi government over the appointment of JP Nadda as the Union Health Minister as it claimed that he was responsible for the controversial removal recently of the Chief Vigilance Officer of AIIMS.

"JP Nadda, the man who got Sanjeev Chaturvedi transferred from AIIMS, made health min? So, now Modiji will remove corruption in AIIMS through Nadda?" AAP's National Convener Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet.

AAP has been gunning for Nadda ever since Chaturvedi was removed from the post of the Chief Vigilance Officer at AIIMS in August. The party has alleged that Chaturvedi was ousted after Nadda put pressure on his predecessor in the health minister's chair, Harsh Vardhan.

Nadda, a BJP national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP, was made the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister in the Cabinet reshuffle yesterday.

Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia alleged that Nadda's appointment will lead to an increase in corruption and ultimately bring about a hike in the cost of health facilities at AIIMS.

"Nadda is the person who played an important in removing honest officials from the Health Ministry... If people like Nadda will sit in the Health Ministry, then it is obvious that medicines and health facilities will get costlier and there will be an increase in corruption," charged Sisodia.

Chaturvedi was removed as the AIIMS CVO in a controversial manner with the then Health Minister Harsh Vardhan saying the step was taken because he did not fulfil the criteria for the appointment.