New Delhi: In a Cabinet reshuffle by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, minister Atishi has been given charge of the Services and Vigilance departments, currently held by Saurabh Bharadwaj. Kejriwal has sent a file to lieutenant governor VK Saxena for approval.
The reshuffle comes a day after the Government of National Capital territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2023 (Delhi Services Bill) was passed in the Rajya Sabha. Atishi, who initially held the portfolios including PWD, education and power, were handed over finance, planning and revenue in June. Atishi now holds 14 departments, making her the only minister in the seven-minister Cabinet to hold the maximum number of portfolios and has thus been elevated to the second position.
Atishi was inducted into the Cabinet along with Bhardwaj in March after Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia, were sent to jail for their alleged involvement in scams. Since then, the Cabinet was reshuffled thrice. Delhi's sole woman Cabinet member, Atishi, MLA from Kalkaji assembly seat, was born on June 8, 1981 in Delhi to Tripta Wahi and Vijay Kumar Singh. Her father was a professor at Delhi University. She hails from the Punjabi Rajput community and studied at Springdale School in Delhi. After obtaining a bachelor's degree from St. Stephen's College, she did her masters from Oxford University, London.
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