President Droupadi Murmu has appointed AAP MLAs Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj as ministers in the Delhi cabinet on the advice of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The appointments are effective from the date of their swearing-in.
The move came after the resignation of AAP ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, who were key faces of the city government and played a crucial role in steering Delhi through the COVID-19 crisis.
Atishi, who represents the Kalkaji constituency, has been a key member of Sisodia's education team and is known for her work in improving the education system in Delhi. She was also a Lok Sabha candidate for the AAP in the 2019 General Elections but lost to BJP's Gautam Gambhir. Atishi has been appointed as a minister in the Delhi cabinet with effect from March 7, 2023.
Saurabh Bharadwaj, who is also the party's national spokesperson, has been elected as an MLA three times since 2013, defeating BJP candidates by large margins. He was also a cabinet minister in the Arvind Kejriwal government for a brief period in 2014. Currently representing the Greater Kailash constituency, Bharadwaj has been appointed as a minister in the Delhi cabinet with effect from March 7, 2023.
Until Atishi and Bharadwaj are sworn in, ministers Raaj Kumar Anand and Kailash Gahlot will take care of the portfolios that have fallen vacant following Sisodia's resignation.
While Gahlot has been given the additional charge of finance, PWD along with some departments, Anand, who is also the social welfare minister, will take care of education, health, and other departments.
The appointments come at a time when AAP's second-in-command, Manish Sisodia, has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.
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(Edited by : Soham Shetty)
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