Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, two trusted aides of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, have been in the news lately for their alleged involvement in corruption cases. Sisodia, who was the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. Jain, who was the Health Minister of Delhi, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last year in a money laundering case.
Despite their legal troubles, Sisodia and Jain were key faces of the Delhi government and played a crucial role in steering the city through the COVID-19 crisis. The two have been part of several important decisions for the Aam Aadmi Party and the Kejriwal-led government.
Sisodia, who was the second-in-command in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was the nodal in-charge minister of COVID-19 management during the pandemic. He held 18 departments before resigning from the state cabinet on Tuesday, including education, finance, and public works.
During his tenure as education minister, Sisodia significantly transformed the infrastructure and quality of education in Delhi government schools. Under his leadership, Delhi got its own education board and a Sainik School, and he implemented initiatives like the Happiness Curriculum and Entrepreneurship Curriculum. As finance minister, he doubled the budgetary allocation for education, amounting to almost 25 percent of the entire budget of the state.
Jain, on the other hand, was responsible for implementing the mohalla clinics project, which aimed to provide free primary healthcare to the citizens of Delhi. He was instrumental in building those clinics across the national capital, and implemented schemes like the free surgery scheme and electricity and water subsidy. He saw Delhi through the coronavirus crisis, especially during the second wave when the city faced a shortage of beds and oxygen. Even after his arrest, Jain continued to be a minister without any portfolios in the cabinet.
The AAP has condemned the arrests of Sisodia and Jain, saying they are victims of the BJP’s "politics of arrogance."
The party has also alleged that the BJP is using the Central agencies to target the opposition. The arrests come ahead of the municipal elections in Delhi, and many see them as a political move.
The resignations of Sisodia and Jain have dealt a blow to the Delhi government, which is already facing criticism over its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the AAP has assured the people of Delhi that the government will continue to work towards their welfare and development.
With agency inputs.
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