Atishi gets finance and revenue in rapid rise | Delhi News
NEW DELHI: In a sudden move, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has handed over three important portfolios – finance, planning and revenue – to Shoteffectively making her No.2 in the cabinet. All three departments are currently held by Kailash Gahlot.
The CM’s office said the file on the proposed changes was sent to the lieutenant governor on June 26 but was yet to be signed and returned to the elected government for the gazette notification.
The LG’s secretariat, however, claimed that the proposal was signed by Saxena on Wednesday.
Atishi to be busiest minister in cabinet with 12 portfolios
With 12 departments – including education, PWD, women and child development and tourism – her responsibility now, Atishiwill be the busiest minister in Kejriwal’s cabinet. Gahlot, who was given the charge of finance and planning departments on March 1, is now left with five, including transport, home, law, justice and legislative affairs. Saurabh Bharadwaj and Raaj Kumar Anand have seven departments each, Gopal Rai has three and Imran Hussain two.
The finance and planning departments have always been considered the most important portfolios in the cabinet and have traditionally been either retained by the chief minister or allocated to the seniormost minister. Even before Sisodia’s arrest and his subsequent resignation, Gahlot had started attending meetings of the finance department to get a fair idea of the government’s projects and priorities and prepare the budget speech accordingly. After formally getting charge of the department, the Najafgarh MLA also presented his first budget. He kept the revenue department for almost six years. Inducted into the cabinet in May 2017, Gahlot had been given charge of the department the same year in July.
A first-time MLA from Kalkaji, Atishi was inducted into the cabinet in March this year after former deputy CM Manish Sisodia and former health minister Satyendar Jain, who were in judicial custody then, resigned from their posts. The portfolios held by the two ministers were initially divided among Gahlot and Anand but further redistributed when Atishi and Bharadwaj joined the council of ministers a week later. But revenue, finance and planning stayed with Gahlot. With three important departments in her kitty, Atishi’s rise in the cabinet has been meteoric.
A Rhodes scholar, Atishi worked as adviser to Sisodia in the education department besides serving as chairperson of the Delhi assembly’s standing committee on education. Atishi is also a vocal AAP functionary when it comes to political matters. She is often seen putting across the party’s point of view on various national issues through press conferences. The Kalkaji MLA was also part of the Kejriwalled AAP delegation which travelled to various states governed by opposition parties to seek their support against the ordinance promulgated by the Centre on services matters.
The CM’s office said the file on the proposed changes was sent to the lieutenant governor on June 26 but was yet to be signed and returned to the elected government for the gazette notification.
The LG’s secretariat, however, claimed that the proposal was signed by Saxena on Wednesday.
Atishi to be busiest minister in cabinet with 12 portfolios
With 12 departments – including education, PWD, women and child development and tourism – her responsibility now, Atishiwill be the busiest minister in Kejriwal’s cabinet. Gahlot, who was given the charge of finance and planning departments on March 1, is now left with five, including transport, home, law, justice and legislative affairs. Saurabh Bharadwaj and Raaj Kumar Anand have seven departments each, Gopal Rai has three and Imran Hussain two.
The finance and planning departments have always been considered the most important portfolios in the cabinet and have traditionally been either retained by the chief minister or allocated to the seniormost minister. Even before Sisodia’s arrest and his subsequent resignation, Gahlot had started attending meetings of the finance department to get a fair idea of the government’s projects and priorities and prepare the budget speech accordingly. After formally getting charge of the department, the Najafgarh MLA also presented his first budget. He kept the revenue department for almost six years. Inducted into the cabinet in May 2017, Gahlot had been given charge of the department the same year in July.
A first-time MLA from Kalkaji, Atishi was inducted into the cabinet in March this year after former deputy CM Manish Sisodia and former health minister Satyendar Jain, who were in judicial custody then, resigned from their posts. The portfolios held by the two ministers were initially divided among Gahlot and Anand but further redistributed when Atishi and Bharadwaj joined the council of ministers a week later. But revenue, finance and planning stayed with Gahlot. With three important departments in her kitty, Atishi’s rise in the cabinet has been meteoric.
A Rhodes scholar, Atishi worked as adviser to Sisodia in the education department besides serving as chairperson of the Delhi assembly’s standing committee on education. Atishi is also a vocal AAP functionary when it comes to political matters. She is often seen putting across the party’s point of view on various national issues through press conferences. The Kalkaji MLA was also part of the Kejriwalled AAP delegation which travelled to various states governed by opposition parties to seek their support against the ordinance promulgated by the Centre on services matters.
