Delhi Cabinet reshuffle | Atishi now holds 12 portfolios including Finance, Revenue

Delhi Minister Atishi has been given the additional charge of Revenue, Planning and Finance departments following L-G V.K. Saxena’s nod to the Cabinet reshuffle proposal

Delhi Minister Atishi has been given the additional charge of Revenue, Planning and Finance departments following L-G V.K. Saxena’s nod to the Cabinet reshuffle proposal, officials said on Friday.

The three departments were earlier with Minister Kailash Gahlot, who was given the portfolios of planning and finance following the resignation of former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who was arrested in connection with the excise policy case.

With the additional charge, Atishi, who also holds the distinction of being the only woman Minister in the Cabinet, will now hold 12 portfolios, the highest among all Ministers.

“Delhi L-G V.K. Saxena has approved the proposal and the file reached the government,” said the official.

The proposal to reshuffle the Cabinet had turned into the latest flashpoint between the AAP government and the L-G with Government sources saying that the file was pending with Mr. Saxena for four days. However, officials at L-G House termed it a “blatant lie”.

Atishi along with Saurabh Bharadwaj was inducted into the Cabinet following the resignation of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain after their arrest.

The BJP termed the move “political extortion” and said Mr. Sisodia had “pressured” Mr. Kejriwal into giving “lucrative portfolios to his protégé Atishi”. “Finance, revenue and PWD are the most lucrative departments. Finance was one department through which Mr. Sisodia managed fund collection for AAP and made hay for himself too,” Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said.