The Uttar Pradesh government has suspended the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Kanpur, Dr Haridutt Nemi, following a dispute with the Kanpur Nagar District Magistrate, the audio recording of which went viral.
Dr Uday Nath, the Additional CMO of Shravasti, has been appointed as the new CMO of Kanpur Nagar.
According to reports, Dr Nemi was suspended after a verbal spat with Kanpur Nagar District Magistrate J P Singh.
The leaked audio of the altercation reportedly angered the state government and led to his suspension.
Though Dr Nemi had the backing of three BJP MLAs, other BJP MLAs in the district supported the DM.
The three BJP MLAs had reportedly written to Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak, urging him not to remove Dr Nemi. However, the Chief Minister’s Office proceeded with the suspension.
The dispute began when the DM made a surprise inspection of the CMO’s office and found Dr Nemi absent.
Dr Nemi, however, alleged that the DM insulted him by asking him to leave during an important meeting.
He further claimed that a conspiracy was behind the leaked audio, and that it was recorded after he stopped payments to a medicine supply firm.
The suspension appears to have brought an end to the ongoing internal tussle within the BJP in Kanpur.