President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday approved the resignations of former Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain – who are currently lodged in Tihar jail in connection with the Delhi excise policy case and money laundering case respectively, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement.
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.
This Monday, VK Saxena, the lieutenant governor of Delhi, gave the President his letters of resignation.
As the CBI arrested Sisodia, Jain also announced his resignation that day. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Jain in May of last year in connection with a money laundering investigation.
Five members make up the Delhi council of ministers in total, including Kejriwal, who does not hold any responsibilities. 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.
The President also appointed Aam Admi Party MLAs Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj as ministers in the Delhi cabinet on the advice of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, with effect from the date they are sworn in, stated Ministry of Home Affairs.
Kejriwal had forwarded the names to the Lieutenant Governor for their appointment to the Cabinet.
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 the Delhi Jal Board as its vice chairman.
The legislator from Greater Kailash was also a minister during the first stint of the AAP government.
The Delhi council of ministers now has a strength of five, including CM Arvind Kejriwal, who doesn’t hold any portfolios.
