In a significant turn of events, two ministers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Delhi government who were in custody on corruption allegations – Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain – have resigned from their posts. The resignations were sent to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who accepted them. This move comes after the Supreme Court denied immediate relief to Sisodia in a plea challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Delhi excise policy case and asked him to approach the Delhi High Court.
Sisodia, who was the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and responsible for 18 departments, was arrested by the CBI on Sunday in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor policy for 2021-22. On Monday, he was remanded to CBI custody. Meanwhile, Satyendar Jain, who had been in judicial custody for the past nine months on charges of money laundering, has been housed at Tihar Jail since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.
The resignations come at a crucial time, just ahead of the Budget Session of the Delhi Assembly, which is expected to be called soon. Sisodia, who was responsible for the Finance portfolio, was scheduled to present the Budget for the year. As per the rules, the Cabinet can have up to seven ministers, including the Chief Minister. The other ministers besides Kejriwal include Kailash Gahlot, Gopal Rai, Raaj Kumar Anand, and Imran Hussain.
The move by the two ministers is likely to cause a major upheaval within the AAP and the Delhi government, as they were considered close aides of Kejriwal and played key roles in the functioning of the party and the government. It remains to be seen how the AAP leadership will handle the situation and whether they will nominate new ministers to fill the vacant positions.
The resignation of Sisodia, who was responsible for multiple portfolios including Education, Information Technology, and Tourism, is a significant blow to the Delhi government. He was one of the key faces of the AAP and had played a crucial role in the party’s rise to power in Delhi. His resignation has also raised questions about the future of the AAP and the stability of the Delhi government.
The resignation of Jain, who was responsible for multiple portfolios including Health and Industries, is also likely to have a significant impact on the functioning of the Delhi government. He had been under investigation for several months and had maintained his innocence throughout.
The AAP has been under fire in recent months over corruption allegations, with several party members and leaders facing charges of graft. The resignations of Sisodia and Jain are likely to further dent the party’s image and could have implications for its electoral prospects in the upcoming assembly elections in Delhi.
The resignations of two key ministers of the AAP and the Delhi government, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, are likely to cause a major upheaval within the party and the government. The move comes at a crucial time, just ahead of the Budget Session of the Delhi Assembly, and is likely to raise questions about the future of the AAP and the stability of the Delhi government. The resignations are also likely to have implications for the party’s electoral prospects in the upcoming assembly elections in Delhi.
