With Manish Sisodia’s arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday, 26th February 2023, two of the total seven ministers of the Delhi government’s cabinet are lodged in jail. Interestingly, both ministers together head a dozen departments while the chief minister of Delhi and Aam Aadmi Party’s convenor Arvind Kejriwal heads no specific department.
In the 2020 assembly elections of Delhi, Satyendra Jain won from the Shakur Basti constituency for the consecutive third time. In the cabinet of the Arvind Kejriwal government, Satyendra Jain heads ministries viz. health and family welfare, industries, home, power, water, urban development, irrigation & flood control.
In the 2020 assembly elections of Delhi, Manish Sisodia won from the Patparganj constituency for the consecutive third time. In the cabinet of the Arvind Kejriwal government, Manish Sisodia heads ministries viz. finance, education, tourism, public works department, labour, planning, land & building, vigilance, services, art, culture, and language.
In this way, two of the seven ministers in Arvind Kejriwal’s cabinet are responsible for 19 departments. On the other hand, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal does not have any specific department. With Satyendra Jain and now Manish Sisodia getting arrested, the caretakers of the 19 departments of the Delhi government are behind the bars.
Satyendra Jain’s arrest
The ED attached assets worth Rs 4.81 crores linked to Jain and his family in April. The ED launched an investigation in the case based on an FIR which was registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jain and others under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
It is alleged that while Jain was a public servant, his companies received up to Rs. 4.81 crores from shell companies via the Hawala network. Satyendar Jain was arrested and detained by the Enforcement Directorate on May 31, 2022.
Manish Sisodia’s arrest
On Sunday, 26th February 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor excise policy case, after eight hours of questioning. However, Sisodia has not been named an accused in the chargesheet filed in the case. Arrested businessmen Vijay Nair and Abhishek are among the seven accused named in the chargesheet.
In August last year, the CBI searched Sisodia’s bank locker in connection with the case. The deputy CM claimed the sleuths did not find any incriminating material in his locker. The CBI launched a probe in the matter on the basis of a report forwarded by the Delhi chief secretary to L-G Saxena recommending a probe by the central agency.