Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has approved Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s decision and the appointment file has finally reached the Delhi government.
Delhi Minister Atishi [File Photo]
Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has approved a major cabinet reshuffle proposal in the Delhi government with Minister Atishi getting the additional charge of Revenue, Planning and Finance departments, the AAP government sources said on Friday.
Earlier, these three departments were held by Delhi Cabinet Minister Kailash Gahlot.
“Lieutenant Governor has approved the proposal and the file reached the Delhi government,” the sources said.
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With the additional charge, Atishi now commands a total of 12 departments, making her the second-in-command, only next to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
While Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj and Delhi Social Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand hold seven portfolios, Kailash Gahlot holds five portfolios including Transport, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai holds three and Delhi Food and Supplies Minister Imran Hussain holds two.
Atishi was serving as the Minister of Education, Public Works Department, Culture and Tourism prior to this latest appointment. She had played a key role as an Advisor to former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the field of education.
Earlier, on Thursday, a row had erupted over the matter related to the Delhi cabinet reshuffle issue as the sources had suggested that the file appointing Atishi to the three key departments did not reach the Chief Minister’s office.
However, the sources in the Lieutenant Governor’s (LG) office had said that the file had been sent back to the Chief Minister following the LG’s approval.
Atishi along with her colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj were sworn in as cabinet ministers in the Delhi government following the resignations of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain.
While Sisodia has been jailed in connection with the probe on the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, Satyendar Jain has been lodged in Tihar Jail since last year on charges of money laundering.
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