Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who returned to Tihar jail on Sunday, accepted the resignation of its former Delhi Minister Raaj Kumar Anand on Friday. Anand has joined the BSP after resigning from the AAP on April 10 and has contested in the Lok Sabha 2024 election from the New Delhi seat.

The AAP Chief, in his only official communication during the period when he was out on interim bail, has recommended the acceptance of resignation of Anand, who is up against his own party colleague and AAP MLA Somnath Bharti, after a gap of a month and 20 days.

With this recommendation to the Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, who has forwarded the resignation for consideration by the President of India Draupadi Murmu as required by law, Saxena said.

“The critical departments of SC/ST Welfare, Social Welfare, Cooperative and Gurudwara Elections have become headless and paralyzed, since in his recommendations to the LG, Kejriwal has not allocated these departments to any other Minister, as law provides. 

With no recommendation about re-allocation being made, all these departments will automatically vest into the Chief Minister, who is in jail, thereby making any decision or work in these departments impossible,” Saxena stated.

Anand in his resignation to the Chief Minister had outlined inaction and corruption in these departments, as also diversion of SC/ST funds for other purposes and schemes, apart from ministers being in jail, as reason. 

“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 inter-state cooperation / coordination with the LG, in the matter of water crisis in Delhi,” Saxena claimed.