On Tuesday, the Delhi cabinet’s two imprisoned ministers—Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain—resigned. Although Jain was detained by the Enforcement Directorate in May of last year in a money laundering case, Sisodia, the AAP’s second-in-command, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday in connection with suspected irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021–22.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led administration is likely to appoint MLAs Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi to the Delhi cabinet, sources said on Wednesday, after Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia and AAP Minister Satyendar Jain quit on Tuesday amid corruption allegations.
According to Times Now sources, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has given the names of the AAP MLAs to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena so that they might be promoted as ministers in the Delhi government.
Sisodia and Jain’s departments were given to Kailash Gahlot and Raaj Kumar Anand, respectively, but it was only a matter of time until other members of the cabinet were added when Saurabh Bhardwaj said on Tuesday that Kejriwal will be enlarging the cabinet.
“Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia were in charge of most of the important departments in the fairly tiny Delhi cabinet. Two new ministers will be appointed very quickly in order to prevent falling behind on duties, “added Bhardwaj.
Atishi represents Kalkaji, and Saurabh Bhardwaj is the MLA for the Greater Kailash seat.
President Droupadi Murmu has been advised by Delhi L-G to accept Sisodia and Jain’s resignations. On Tuesday, Kejriwal accepted their resignation. Jain resigned along with Sisodia despite being detained in a money laundering case in May of last year.
The controversy over Jain’s imprisonment hasn’t subsided despite a rumored video showing him getting special treatment inside the jail. In addition to being famous for his work in education, Sisodia was in charge of PWD’s finances.
Atishi, an original member of the AAP, made headlines when she chose the surname Marlena, which is a combination of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. Yet in the most recent election, Atishi dropped Marlena and returned to Singh.
Atishi was a significant contributor to the party’s manifesto-drafting committee for the 2013 Assembly election, according to the party’s website. Manish Sisodia’s adviser at the ministry of education was Atishi.