A day after the deputy CM Manish Sisodia was detained by the CBI in the excise policy fraud case, officials in the Delhi government said on Monday that it is too early to speak about a potential successor for Manish Sisodia in the cabinet.
They stated that Sisodia, like his imprisoned cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain (on money laundering charges), would continue to serve as a minister, while his responsibilities would be shared among other people.
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister, is said to be eyeing several of his deputy's crucial duties.
In the administration of Delhi, Sisodia is in charge of 18 of the 33 departments, including the education, finance, and public works departments, all of which are considered to be very important (PWD).
With the arrest of Satyendar Jain by the Enforcement Directorate in May of last year, he found himself with a heavier task. Ministerial responsibilities formerly held by Jain have been transferred to Sisodia, including those of health, industry, power, home, urban development, irrigation and flood control, and water.
The BJP has called on Arvind Kejriwal to fire Sisodia and Jain from their cabinet positions.
Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and a member of the BJP, has called for a "urgent overhaul" of the Delhi government.
The AAP headquarters here was buzzing with rumours about the future on Monday, with the most popular theory being that Sisodia and Jain would continue to serve in the government in some capacity.
"A new minister cannot be inducted since Article 239AA of the Constitution of India says that there shall be a Council of Ministers consisting of not more than ten per cent of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly, with the Chief Minister at the head.... The portfolios will be distributed among the existing ministers with there being a strong possibility that Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot might take over finance," said a source.
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Party sources have suggested that Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot may submit the Delhi government's budget for the next financial year, despite the fact that no decision has been made over who would take over Sisodia's ministries.
"As there was a possibility that the deputy chief minister may be arrested by the CBI, Gahlot was attending budget-related meetings for the last few days. Gahlot is likely to present the 2023-24 budget. It is scheduled to be presented next month," an AAP functionary earlier told PTI.
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According to reports, the party's aspirations to expand throughout the country might be jeopardised if Sisodia is arrested.
The most senior party official, though, added, "Now everyone in the country will know who is Delhi's education minister. After today, I don't think anyone will ask who is Manish Sisodia. We have always got the love of people and in the past we have seen that whenever a party leader has been arrested, the party's donations have risen indicating that its growing popularity."
On Monday, a special court for the CBI ordered Sisodia to remain in the custody of the central investigation agency till March 4.
On Sunday night, the CBI made an arrest related to corruption allegations surrounding the development and execution of the abandoned liquor policy for 2020-21.
(With inputs from PTI)
