In a significant development, Delhi's deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and health minister Satyendar Jain have submitted their resignations to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday.

The resignation comes at a time when both the AAP leaders are facing corruption charges for irregularities in the excise policy case and money laundering, respectively.

Both the leaders have tendered their resignation from their respective posts in the Delhi state cabinet.

While Sisodia was arrested on Sunday by CBI sleuths, Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May 2022 for indulging in money laundering after CBI booked him in 2017 for possession of disproportionate assets.

Kejriwal has reportedly accepted the resignation of both. The portfolios held by both the ministers have been assigned to Kailash Gahlot and Raaj Kumar Anand. No new minister will be sworn in as of now, sources said.

The Aam Aadmi Party, to which both the leaders belong, said the resignations did not mean that they guilty but it was done as a means of facilitating administration.

Sisodia in his resignation letter said he was stepping down from the post till the charges against him are proven false. He said these allegations are nothing more than "a conspiracy of cowards and weak people". "Their target is not me, their target is Arvind Kejriwal."

Invoking freedom fighters as his source of strength, he said "the blessings of lakhs of Delhi government school children, their parents and teachers are with me".

"The two ministers worked with complete honesty and gave their all for the benefit of Delhi. They had important portfolios. Just so that Delhi's work is not hampered, they have resigned," said senior AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj.

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(Edited by : Pradeep John)

First Published:Feb 28, 2023 6:19 PM IST