Presidential nod to new Delhi minister; oath likely on Thursday
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal recommended the name of Anand, the Patel Nagar MLA, to the lieutenant governor for including him in the Cabinet on October 19.
The Union ministry of home affairs has issued a notification from President Droupadi Murmu confirming the appointment of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Raaj Kumar Anand as a new minister in the Delhi cabinet.
The notification, dated November 1, states: “The President is pleased to appoint, on the advice of the Chief Minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Shri Raaj Kumar Anand as a Minister in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, with effect from the date he is sworn in.”
A government official, on condition of anonymity, said Anand will take the oath of office on Thursday at Raj Niwas, and that he will be administered the oath by lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. Shortly after taking oath, the minister will take charge of the office at Delhi secretariat, the official said.
Anand’s predecessor, Rajendra Pal Gautam, had resigned on October 9 after a controversy over his presence in a religious conversion programme. Like Gautam, Anand is also from the Jatav community. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal recommended the name of Anand, the Patel Nagar MLA, to the lieutenant governor for including him in the Cabinet on October 19.
Anand is a post graduate in political science and had joined the anti-corruption movement along with his wife Veena Anand in 2011. In the 2013 assembly elections, his wife had won from the Patel Nagar constituency. In the 2015 assembly polls, she was replaced by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Hazari Lal Chauhan for the seat. In 2020, Raaj Kumar Anand contested the assembly polls from the seat and won it.