AAP MLAs Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj Sworn-In As Delhi Ministers In Presence Of CM Kejriwal
The development comes after Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain resigned from their ministerial positions.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj were sworn in as Delhi Cabinet ministers on Thursday days after Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain resigned from their ministerial positions after being arrested in corruption cases. The event, held at Delhi Raj Bhawan, was attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Atishi was allocated education, PWD, power and tourism portfolios while Saurabh Bharadwaj got health, water and industries and urban development.
Atishi and Bharadwaj will be attending the Delhi Assembly's Budget session commencing from March 17 as ministers.
This comes after President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday accepted the resignations of former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Minister Satyendar Jain -- both currently lodged in Tihar jail. The President also gave her approval to appoint Bharadwaj and Atishi as ministers in the Delhi government.
While Sisodia is in judicial custody in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, Jain was arrested on allegations of money laundering in a case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
Atishi represents the Kalkaji constituency and has been a key member of Sisodia's education team. She had also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the East Delhi constituency and lost to BJP's Gautam Gambhir. Bhardwaj, the party's national spokesperson, had served in the Delhi Jal Board as its vice-chairman.
Prior to this, Raaj Kumar Anand and Kailash Gahlot were taking care of the portfolios that had fallen vacant following Sisodia's resignation.
Of the 18 departments headed by Sisodia, the responsibilities of eight departments, including Finance and PWD, were given to Kailash Gahlot, while the remaining ten, including education and health went to Raaj Kumar Anand.
AAP has been forced to rejig its Cabinet portfolios after Sisodia, widely seen to be Kejriwal's number two in the party and the government, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with alleged corruption in the now-withdrawn liquor policy.
The senior AAP leader was brought to Tihar Jail on Monday shortly after a CBI court remanded him to 14-day judicial custody till March 20 in the case.
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