Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced that AAP MLAs – Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi – will be the new cabinet ministers in the AAP Government replacing Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain who resigned yesterday.

Talking to reporters on Tuesday evening after a meeting with AAP MLAs and councillors, Kejriwal informed them that the new ministers will soon join the Delhi Cabinet.

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The chief minister hit out at the BJP-led Centre over the arrest of Sisodia and Jain and said if both the AAP leaders had joined BJP today, they will be released tomorrow.

Referring to the arrest of Manish Sisodia, he called the excise policy just an excuse and that there was no scam in it.

“PM wanted to stop good work in Delhi. Manish Sisodia was arrested as he did good work in education. Satyendar Jain was arrested as he did good work in health,” he said.

“If Manish Sisodia joins BJP today, won’t he be released tomorrow? All cases will be withdrawn. If Satyendar Jain joins BJP today, all cases (against him) will be withdrawn and he would be released from jail tomorrow. The issue isn’t corruption but stopping work and sending CBI-ED after the Opposition,” Kejriwal contended.

According to sources, Kejriwal has sent the names of Bhardwaj and Atishi to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena for their elevation as cabinet ministers.

Earlier in the day, the lieutenant governor approved Kejriwal’s proposal to give the responsibility of additional departments to cabinet ministers, Kailash Gahlot and Raaj Kumar Anand, till new ministers are inducted into the cabinet.

Of the 18 departments headed by Sisodia, responsibilities of eight, including Finance and PWD, have been given to Gahlot, while the remaining ten that include Education and Health have been assigned to Anand.

According to a gazette notification, with the new responsibilities handed over to Gehlot and Anand, both ministers will now have 14 departments each.

Gahlot was already handling six departments that included Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs, Transportation, Administrative Reforms, Information Technology, Revenue, and Women and Child Development.

Raaj Kumar Anand was a minister with four departments under him, namely Gurudwara Elections, SC & ST, Social Welfare, and Cooperative.

Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in connection with the excise policy case on Sunday. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court refused to entertain Sisodia’s plea challenging his arrest in the excise policy case prompting his resignation from all the posts including that of the deputy chief minister.

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Monday had sent him to CBI custody for five days.

AAP leader Jain is currently lodged in judicial custody in connection with a money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).