Arrested Delhi ministers resign. But what about others?

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: In a significant turn of events, arrested Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain Tuesday resigned from the Arvind Kejriwal-led cabinet amidst BJP's persistent onslaught against the AAP over the corruption charges against its leaders.

The resignations came minutes after the SC refused to entertain the bail plea of Sisodia, who is in CBI custody in the nowscrapped excise policy case, saying it would set a "wrong precedent" and efficacious alternative remedies are available to him.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha said just because the incident happened in Delhi, he cannot come to the apex court directly as he has his remedies before the trial court concerned as well as the Delhi High Court. Kejriwal has accepted the resignations of Sisodia and Jain, and an AAP national spokesperson said two new ministers will be appointed soon and the responsibilities of Sisodia and Jain will be distributed accordingly.

While Sisodia was arrested on Sunday evening by CBI after nearly nine hours of questioning, Jain, currently lodged in Tihar, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May last year in connection with a money laundering case.

Alleging that the Centre is "targeting" the state governments who are "working relentlessly for development", AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said, "it is very unfortunate for the entire country that those leaders who were known and popular for their work, have been trapped."

"The cabinet in Delhi is quite small and most of the important departments were handled by Jain and Sisodia. To avoid being behind in terms of work, two new ministers will be appointed very soon," Bhardwaj said. According to official sources in the Delhi government, Sisodia's portfolios would be allotted to Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot and Social Welfare Minister Raj Kumar Anand.