Delhi govt allocates departments under Satyendar Jain to Manish Sisodia

The move comes after minister Satyendar Jain was arrested and sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government departments such as health, home, water and industries, which were under minister Satyendar Jain, who has been arrested and is currently in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case, were allocated to deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday, said a government notification.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia is now in-charge of a total of 18 departments. (PTI)

“Lieutenant governor, in consultation with chief minister (Arvind Kejriwal), is pleased to allocate portfolios of health, industries, power, home, urban development, irrigation and flood control, and water to Manish Sisodia, deputy chief minister in addition to the portfolios he is presently holding,” said the gazette notification issued by the Delhi government.

Jain continues to be a minister in the Kejriwal cabinet but he does not currently have any portfolio.

Sisodia is now in-charge of a total of 18 departments including education, public works department, finance, health, industries, power, home, urban development, water, planning, tourism, art and culture among others.

ED arrested Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case on Monday and later he was produced in the Rouse Avenue Court, which remanded him in ED’s custody till June 9.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has described the ED case against his cabinet colleague as a fraud one and stressed that his government “is honest and does not tolerate corruption”.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal on Thursday claimed in a press conference that the central government is likely to get Manish Sisodia arrested in a few days. He made the claim on the basis of information he has received from his sources.

“I have come to know from sources that in the next few days the central government is going to arrest Manish Sisodia. The Centre has asked all central agencies to prepare a fake case against Sisodia and arrest him,” Kejriwal claimed.

He described Sisodia, who is also the education minister, as one of the best education ministers in the country and credited him with reforms in the education sector under the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. “Over 18 lakh students study in Delhi government schools and he has given them new hope,” Kejriwal said asking the students whether Sisodia is corrupt.

Kejriwal alleged the Centre is trying to derail the good work going on in the education and health sectors of Delhi and said that putting them behind bars will be a loss of the country.

However, Union minister Smriti Irani dubbed Kejriwal’s claim as a conspiracy theory. “Conspiracy theorist strikes back! By not answering a single pointed question, Kejriwal Ji has in a way admitted to the Hawala nexus of his Minister. It would be easier to come out ‘clean’ for once instead of peddling fake sob stories which do not have any takers anymore,” she said in a tweet on Thursday.