AAP MLAs Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj take oath as Delhi ministers

On Thursday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj were sworn in as Ministers in the Delhi cabinet. The ceremony was held in the Auditorium at Raj Niwas in Delhi. The newly appointed ministers were sworn in by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.

“In terms of the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, Atishi Marlena and Saurabh Bharadwaj have been appointed as Ministers in the National Capital Territory of Delhi,” read the official statement from the General Administration Department.

This comes after President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignations of former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Minister Satyendar Jain, both of whom are currently imprisoned in Tihar for their roles in the Delhi excise policy case.

President Murmu appointed Atishi and Bharadwaj to the Delhi cabinet on the advice of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, with effect from the date they are sworn in, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Kejriwal had forwarded the names to the Lieutenant Governor for consideration for Cabinet appointments. Atishi is a member of Sisodia’s education team and represents the Kalkaji constituency.

She also ran in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from East Delhi but lost to BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir. Bharadwaj, the party’s national spokesperson, previously served as vice chairman of the Delhi Jal Board. During the first term of the AAP government, the legislator from Greater Kailash also served as a minister.

The Delhi council of ministers now has five members, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who does not hold any portfolios. Following his arrest in the alleged excise policy scam, Sisodia resigned from all 18 of his positions.

Following the arrest of former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain last year, seven of his portfolios were transferred to Sisodia, who was overseeing 18 departments at the time of his arrest.

He is now being held in Tihar Jail after Rouse Avenue Court sentenced him to judicial custody until March 20. The excise policy was approved by the Delhi Cabinet led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the midst of the deadly Delta Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

According to the Delhi government, the policy was developed to maximise revenue generation, eliminate the sale of spurious spirits or non-duty paid spirits in Delhi, and improve user experience.

The CBI had filed a case against alleged corruption in the excise policy for 2021-22. The AAP government subsequently repealed the excise policy.
Sisodia was one of 15 people arrested in an FIR filed by the CBI. In the case, excise officials, spirits company executives, dealers, some unknown public servants, and private individuals were arrested.

It was claimed that irregularities were committed, such as changes to the Excise Policy, and undue favours were extended to licence holders, such as a waiver or reduction in licence fee, an extension of L-1 licence without approval, and so on.