NEW DELHI: Newly appointed ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj will look after the education and health departments, respectively – the two portfolios that have been the mainstay of AAP’s ‘Delhi model of governance’.The portfolios were allocated immediately after Kalkaji MLA Atishi and Greater Kailash legislator Bharadwaj were administered the oath of office and secrecy by LG VK Saxena Thursday.Atishi was also given the responsibility of PWD; power; tourism; art, culture & languages, and women & child development. Bharadwaj, who was DJB vice-chairman, will look after water; urban development; industries; water; irrigation & flood control; vigilance and services. The induction of the two and redistribution of portfolios followed the resignations of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain from the cabinet.Kailash Gahlot will take charge of the finance, home and planning departments.Will ensure city’s development not halted till Sisodia, Jain return: Atishi CM Arvind Kejriwal congratulated new ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj and said Delhi had a lot of expectations from them. “The way Manish ji and Satyendar ji were doing good work in Delhi, I am sure the two new ministers will carry their legacy forward,” Kejriwal said.Of the 18 portfolios former deputy minister Manish Sisodia held before his arrest, Kailash Gahlot got finance, planning and home apart from revenue, transport, administrative reforms, law, justice and legislative affairs and information technology and would be presenting his first budget later this month.Gahlot had earlier held the woman and child development department, which has now been transferred to Atishi.Raaj Kumar Anand, who was inducted into Cabinet in November last year, will additionally be handling land & building, labour, and employment departments.Atishi is the first woman to become a minister in Kejriwal’s Cabinet in this term. The 49-day AAP government in 2013-14 had Rakhi Bidlan as a woman face in the council of ministers. But there was no woman in 2015-2020 and in the first three years of AAP’s second full term.A Rhodes scholar, Atishi worked as the advisor to Sisodia in the education department apart from serving as the chairperson of the Delhi Assembly’s standing committee on education.Speaking to reporters, Atishi said till the two ministers arrested by the Central government in “fake cases” came out of jail, she and Bharadwaj will work in the Cabinet and ensure the city’s development does not come to a standstill.”When Lord Ram was sent to exile, his younger brother put his ‘khadau’ on the throne and handled the affairs of the kingdom. Similarly till the time our two senior leaders manage to come out of jail, Saurabh Bhardwaj and I will handle their portfolios and make sure the revolution that they had brought about in the fields of education and healthcare is continued,” Atishi said.Bharadwaj said the focus of the two new ministers will be on three flagship schemes of the Kejriwal Government – healthcare, education and Clean Yamuna Mission. “This will continue to be our main agenda apart from providing all the basic facilities to the people like clean drinking water,” Bharadwaj said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/atishi-new-pwd-education-minister-saurabh-bharadwaj-to-handle-health-water/articleshow/98528563.cms