L-G sends former Delhi Minister’s resignation to President for consideration

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Monday forwarded the former AAP leader and Delhi Minister Raaj Kumar Anand’s resignation to the President for consideration, as required by law, an official said.

According to Raj Niwas, in his only official communication during the period when Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalwas out on interim bail, he has, after a gap of a month and 20 days recommended the acceptance of the resignation of Minister Raaj Kumar Anand.

“Significantly, with this recommendation to the LG, the critical departments of SC/ST Welfare, Social Welfare, Cooperative and Gurudwara Elections have become headless and paralyzed, since in his recommendations to the LG, Kejriwal has not allocated these departments to any other Minister, as law provides,” said the official.

The official at Raj Niwas further said that with no recommendation about re-allocation being made, all these departments will automatically vest into the Chief Minister, who is in jail, thereby making any decision or work in these departments impossible.

Interestingly, Anand in his resignation to the Chief Minister had outlined inaction and corruption in these departments, as well as the diversion of SC/ST funds for other purposes/schemes, apart from ministers being in jail, as a reason.

It may be noted that since Anand resigned on April 10 and when his resignation was recommended for acceptance on May 31 by Kejriwal, the former had already contested the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections on a BSP ticket from the New Delhi constituency.

“Interestingly, while Kejriwal was out on bail for 21 days, he did not deem it fit to send the file pertaining to Mayoral Elections in MCD to the LG. The Mayor this time is to be from the SC category. He also did not deem it fit to raise the issue of inter-state cooperation/coordination with the LG, in the matter of the water crisis in Delhi,” said Raj Niwas.