Accepting minister’s resignation only official work by CM during bail: LG office

To be sure, Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail on May 10 by the Supreme Court in connection with the alleged liquor scam, subject to conditions.

Officials from the office of lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena on Monday said that accepting and forwarding the resignation of minister Raaj Kumar Anand was the only official work undertaken by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal when he was out on 21-day bail till June 2.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal heads back to Tihar jail on June 2. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

They said that the CM neither sent the file pertaining to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections to the LG nor raised the issue of interstate coordination for improving water supply with the LG.

“In his only official communication during the period when CM was out on interim bail, he has, after a gap of a month and 20 days, recommended the acceptance of resignation of minister, Raaj Kumar Anand... Interestingly, while Kejriwal was out on bail for 21 days, he did not deem it fit to send the file pertaining to mayoral elections in MCD to the LG. The mayor this time is to be from the SC category. He also did not deem it fit to raise the issue of interstate cooperation with the LG, in the matter of water crisis in Delhi,” an official with the LG office said.

To be sure, Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail on May 10 by the Supreme Court in connection with the alleged liquor scam, subject to conditions. Apart from the ₹50,000 surety amount, his bail conditions mentioned that he could not visit the office of the Delhi CM or the secretariat, and he could not sign any official file “unless it is necessary for obtaining the clearance or approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi”.

Officials with the LG office said that with the acceptance of the minister’s resignation, critical departments of SC/ST welfare, social welfare, cooperative and Gurudwara Elections have become “headless and paralysed”, since in his recommendations to the LG, Kejriwal has not allocated these departments to any other minister.

“With no recommendation about reallocation being made, all these departments will automatically be with the CM, who is in jail, thereby making any decision or work in these departments impossible,” the official cited above said.

AAP officials, however, said that a government notification issued on December 8, 2023, states that all portfolios not allocated to any minister will be handled by Atishi, who is already the finance, revenue, law and water minister of Delhi.

A spokesperson for the AAP said: “What is shocking is that the LG office is spreading falsehood about the said minister’s departments becoming headles. This only shows their ignorance...”.

Anand resigned on April 10 to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the New Delhi parliamentary seat as a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate before his resignation was accepted on May 31 by the CM and forwarded to the LG. Officials said that the LG has forwarded the resignation for consideration by the President of India.