Recommended to Delhi L-G name of Raaj Kumar Anand for social welfare minister: CM Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said he has recommended to the lieutenant governor the name of Raaj Kumar Anand for social welfare minister, days after Rajendra Pal Gautam resigned following a row over his presence at a religious conversion event.

New Delhi:Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said he has recommended to the lieutenant governor the name of Raaj Kumar Anand for social welfare minister, days after Rajendra Pal Gautam resigned following a row over his presence at a religious conversion event. During a media briefing on the achievements of the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDCD) in the last seven years, Kejriwal said he has written a letter recommending the Patel Nagar MLA's name.

He said that the DDCD has done exemplary work in the last seven years and termed the showcause notice to its vice-chairperson Jasmine Shah wrong. "During coronavirus, we had started a scheme to provide free ration to those without ration cards. The DDCD had come up with an e-coupon system to implement it. Earlier, CATS ambulance used to take 55 minutes but during the pandemic, the DDCD redesigned the system, procured new ambulances and brought down the waiting time to 18 minutes," the chief minister said.

"The DDCD is behind the robust electric vehicle policy, formulated with stakeholders after rigorous consultations over a period of one to one-and-a-half years," Kejriwal added. The Delhi government's planning department on Monday issued a showcause notice to Shah over charges of "misusing public office" by acting as the "official spokesperson" of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), sources had said.

The action came following a complaint by BJP leader and West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma. The AAP had termed the notice "yet another attack on the Delhi government due to its rising graph in Gujarat". "Cabinet has jurisdiction to question him. It (showcause notice) is wrong," the chief minister said. (PTI)