A day after lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung scrapped the Delhi Waqf Board, CM Arvind Kejriwal said the move came because its chairperson Amanatullah Khan was exposing scams in the board.

“Waqf Board had become the centre of corruption. But after taking over as the chairperson of the board, Amanatullah Khan increased its income from Rs 26 lakh to Rs 1 crore by taking several measures,” Mr Kejriwal said at a press conference on Saturday.

“He was targeting big vested interests and that is why he was removed and the board dissolved,” he said.

Earlier on Friday, Mr Jung had dissolved the religious endownments body and cancelled the appointment of Aam Aadmi Party legislator Mr Khan as its chairman and Mehbooh Alam as its CEO. The L-G had also recommended a CBI probe into their appointments and the reconstitution of the board by the AAP government.

“Yesterday, the Waqf Board office was sealed, and we don’t know why it was done. We came to know from the divisional commissioner that there were no such orders to seal the office,” Mr Kejriwal said.

Claiming that the board has shown steller performance under the leadership of Mr Khan, he said, “As many as 1,200 widows were given pension, 100 children were given scholarship. Construction of five schools had started.”

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Khan also said that he is being targeted because he “waged a war” against corruption in the board after taking charge in March.