The BJP had demanded the minister’s removal from the cabinet after his arrest; Photo: File
New Delhi: Two ministers, Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain, arrested on corruption charges of the ruling party of the Indian capital, Aam Aadmi Party, resigned from the ministries.
According to the international news agency, Aam Aadmi Party chief and New Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal accepted the resignation and handed over the additional portfolio of Manish Sisodia to Kailash Gillot while Satyendra Jain was replaced by Rajkumar.
However, the statement issued by Aam Aadmi Party has said that the resignation of these ministers does not mean acceptance of guilt but an administrative action. Cases may come back after being red-handed.
It may be recalled that Manish Sisodia was arrested two days ago on charges of corruption in the Delhi Liquor Policy case, while Satyendra Jain has been in jail for 10 months on charges of money laundering.
The importance of the resigned minister Manish Sisodia can be gauged from the fact that he is Kejriwal’s right-hand man and was in charge of 18 ministries, including the health ministry under Manish Sisodia, along with the deputy chief minister of New Delhi.
Manish Sisodia had kept Chief Minister Kejriwal independent from cabinet matters so that Arvind Kejriwal as the party chief could participate fully in the elections held in different parts of the country.
It may be noted that these resignations came at a time when the BJP questioned why the arrested ministers were still in the Delhi government.
There are now five ministers in the New Delhi government cabinet, including Kejriwal, but he has not taken any ministry.
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