Ritika
New Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s trusted aides and ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain on Tuesday resigned from the cabinet amid allegations of corruption against them. Both Sisodia and Jain are lodged in jail. Kejriwal has accepted the resignations of both the leaders, who have played a key role in implementing the agenda of the party’s governance with regard to good education and health facilities in the national capital, officials said.
Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May last year in a money laundering case. Since then, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been demanding his resignation. Sisodia also came under the scanner in August 2022 when his name surfaced in the excise policy scam.
Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday evening for alleged corruption in formulation and implementation of liquor policy for the year 2021-22. This policy has now been cancelled. The court refused to hear Sisodia’s bail plea on Tuesday.
Portfolios of former Delhi Dy CM Manish Sisodia likely to be given to Delhi cabinet ministers Kailash Gahlot & Raaj Kumar Anand. No new minister will be sworn in as of now: Sources pic.twitter.com/Fyj5AVe8fb
— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2023
Official sources said Sisodia’s portfolios would be allotted to Revenue Minister Kailash Gehlot and Social Welfare Minister Raj Kumar Anand. Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia was in charge of 18 out of 33 departments of the Delhi government, including health, finance, education and home.
Jain remained a minister in the government even after his arrest, but did not hold any portfolio. His portfolios including Health, Home and Urban Development were handed over to Sisodia. Since Jain’s arrest, Sisodia’s workload had almost doubled and he was in charge of most of the key departments of the Delhi government.
Both the ministers headed the education and health services of Delhi. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government claims that “successful changes” have been brought about in both areas in Delhi, which has increased the party’s popularity and continued electoral success. The BJP had stepped up its attack on AAP after Sisodia’s arrest and was demanding his and Jain’s resignation.
BJP’s Delhi unit’s working president Virendra Sachdeva said, “BJP has got the result of the struggle. We were demanding that Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain should resign and also go to jail and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should accept their resignation due to the embarrassing situation. This is the victory of truth, BJP workers.”
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He said, “The liquor scam happened with your connivance and under your nose. You are responsible for this. Our struggle for Kejriwal’s resignation will continue.”
The Congress said Sisodia was arrested “clearly in a corruption case”. The Congress also demanded Kejriwal’s resignation. Congress leader and former Union minister Ajay Maken said those who formed their party on the issue of anti-corruption should answer questions raised on the excise policy, which was formulated in complete contradiction to the recommendations of the committee constituted by them. “It is a clear case of corruption. There is a big scam in Delhi and it should be seen accordingly.” (agency)
