The Delhi council of ministers now has five members, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who does not hold...
Digital Desk: Newly appointed Delhi government ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi Marlena on Friday took charge of their respective departments in the Delhi Secretariat. Both were sworn in as members of the Delhi Cabinet on Thursday at Raj Niwas in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. This came after President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignations of former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Minister Satyendar Jain, both of whom are presently lodged in Tihar jail.
Saurabh Bhardwaj has been given the responsibilities of Health, Industry, Services, Vigilance, Urban Development, Water and Irrigation & Flood Control. Meanwhile, Atishi has taken charge of Education, Electricity, Public Works Department, Women and Child Development, Tourism, Art, Culture, and Language.
President Murmu on Tuesday appointed Atishi and Bharadwaj to the Delhi cabinet on the recommendation of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, with effect from the date they are sworn in, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Kejriwal had forwarded the names to the Lieutenant Governor for appointment to the Cabinet.
Atishi represents the Kalkaji constituency and has been an important member of Sisodia's education team. She also contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the East Delhi seat but lost to BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir.
Bharadwaj, the party's national spokesperson, previously served as vice chairman of the Delhi Jal Board. During the first tenure of the AAP government, the legislator from Greater Kailash also served as a minister.
The Delhi council of ministers now has five members, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who does not hold any portfolios.
Following his arrest in the alleged excise policy scam, Sisodia resigned from all 18 of his posts. Following the arrest of former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain last year, seven of his portfolios were transferred to Sisodia, who was overseeing 18 departments at the time of his arrest.
Following the resignations of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Minister Satyendar Jain, who are both presently imprisoned in Tihar for alleged corruption and money laundering, two cabinet berths had fallen vacant.
The CBI arrested Sisodia on February 26 in connection with alleged corruption in the development and execution of the now-canceled Delhi excise policy for 2021–22. He is being held in judicial custody until March 20th. Jain, who is also in judicial custody, was detained by the Enforcement Directorate on May 30, last year, in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
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