Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is the new law Minister of Delhi after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took the charge away from Kapil Mishra, after a brief stint of two-and-a-half months, on Monday.
Sources said that Mishra was divested of the law portfolio after his letter to the Chief Minister on the Rs400 crore water tanker scam in Delhi Jal Board, was leaked to the Press.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal found it prudent to bring the law Department under his most trusted lieutenant Manish Sisodia. According to sources, functioning of the law Department had gone for a toss after Mishra took over from Jitender Singh Tomar, who was arrested for possessing a fake law degree.
Incidentally, Sisodia is the third law Minister in the Arvind Kejriwal Cabinet since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came to power six months ago. The law Department is a sensitive and crucial department in the present regime due to the ongoing tussle for power and court cases in several important matters.
With the additional responsibility of the law Department, Sisodia is currently holding the charge of 12 departments that include Education, Finance, Planning, Urban Development, land and Building, Revenue, Vigilance, Services, Administrative Reforms, Information Technology, Justice and legislative Affairs while Kapil Mishra is holding four departments that include Tourism, Art and Culture, Gurdwara Elections and Water.
Sources said the law Department staff was not happy with Kapil Mishra and reportedly complained to the Chief Minister’s Office about this. Complete turmoil in the law Department and breakdown in the functioning of the department is also considered one of the reasons for the change.
According to the grapevine, a section of AAP MlAs were not happy with the rising graph of Mishra. In order to pacify them, Kejriwal opted for reorganization of the portfolio and entrusted the responsibilities of the same to Sisodia.
However, some AAP MlAs feel that Mishra’s letter to Kejriwal on the DJB tanker scam may also be the reason for his removal from the law Department.
Mishra had stated in a letter to Kejriwal: “This is a big exposé and I am afraid that immediately after this, there will be attempts to destablise our Government and also to remove me from this chair.”
Mishra had urged Kejriwal to file an FIR against former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in connection with the alleged scam in hiring water tankers which he said had allegedly caused a loss of Rs 400 crore to the State exchequer.
Apart from this, lack of communication between the law Department and the Minister concerned put the Delhi Government on the back foot in court cases.
A highly-placed source said that Kejriwal had chosen Sisodia for the law Ministry primarily because the Government was contesting several cases on key issues in different courts. The source said that since Sisodia enjoys total confidence of Kejriwal, that’s precisely why he has chosen him for this crucial portfolio. Also, the prosecution wing comes directly under the command of the State administration. Since the AAP Government has locked horns over a host of issues with the Delhi Police, which reports to the Centre, the source said that Delhi Government would like to keep tabs on the prosecution wing to monitor day-to-day proceedings of key cases.
Incidentally, the law Department is widely seen as being ‘jinxed’ for the AAP as in its earlier short-lived term in 2013, its then law Minister Somnath Bharti had kicked up a row following a midnight raid against women of African origin