President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday accepted the resignations of former Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain – who are now lodged in Tihar jail in connection with Delhi excise policy case and money laundering case respectively, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
According to the MHA’s notification, the President has also appointed AAP’s Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj as ministers in the Delhi cabinet with effect from the date they will be sworn in, reported news agency ANI.
Delhi lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had submitted the resignation letters to the President last week.
Sisodia and Jain resigned on the same day after the former was arrested by the CBI. Jain was arrested in May last year by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering probe.
The Delhi council of ministers has a total strength of five people including Kejriwal – who does not hold any portfolios. Notably, Jain’s additional responsibility rested with Sisodia who, until he was arrested, was in charge of 18 portfolios of 33 departments including education, finance, planning, urban development among others.
Since the arrest of the two AAP leaders, their departments were divided among Kailash Gahlot and Raaj Kumar Anand. While Gahlot has Finance, Planning, Public Works Department, Power, Home, Urban Development, Water, and Irrigation and Flood Control, Anand is holding Education, Land and Building, Vigilance, Tourism, Services, Art Culture and Language, Labour, Health, Employment, and Industries.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Pillai from Delhi in connection with the excise policy case. A Delhi court sent Pillai to ED remand till March 13.
The ED is also questioning Sisodia in the case today.
