The love affair between Arvind Kejriwal and the media never seems to end. On Friday, the media went gaga over Arvind Kejriwal sacking his Food Minister, Asim Ahmed Khan on charges of corruption.
Although such punitive action is a rarity amongst political parties, Kejriwal isn't the first Chief Minister to do this. In fact, another Chief Minister sacked his minister for the same reason this year.
.It was only in January this year when Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao sacked his deputy T. Rajaiah on charges of corruption in the health department, a portfolio which the latter held in the erstwhile Telangana government.
KCR decided to sack T Rajaiah for two reasons. Firstly, the shoddy way in which swine flu was tackled, leaving 22 dead in the state. Secondly, the minister and top officials of the health department had been accused of purchasing ambulances in an irregular manner. There were also allegations of corruption in appointments to health centres.
The sacking ended four days of turmoil in the medical and health department which, on the one hand, was faced with the challenge of tackling swine flu that claimed 22 lives and, on the other, was grappling with charges of corruption in the purchase of 285 ambulances under the National Health Mission and the employment of doctors and paramedics on outsourcing basis.
But then, Kejriwal sits in Delhi and the sacking was a completely theatrical event. Lesson for KCR here.