New Delhi:

Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot’s exit from Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party was the culmination of a dispute arising from the division of portfolios held by Manish Sisodia following his arrest in the Delhi liquor policy case. The then Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Mr. Sisodia, held the maximum number of portfolios (18), which included not only the flagship health and education but also law, revenue and energy, water, finance and home.

Following his arrest in March last year, most of these portfolios were shared between Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi, who is now the Chief Minister of Delhi.

In December, the Ministry of Law and Justice was transferred from Mr. Gehlot to Atishi. People close to Mr. Gahlot said it became clear then that the party’s senior leadership had little confidence in Mr. Gahlot.

This was the beginning of Mr. Gahlot’s rift with the current Prime Minister, which suddenly came to public attention during the Independence Day flag-raising ceremony.

Mr. Kejriwal, who was in jail at the time, handed over the task to Atishi; It was an election that clearly demonstrated his importance in the party and fueled speculation that he could be the man to replace him in the top job.

But Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena intervened and handed over the charge to Mr. Gahlot, who complied without any conciliatory words to Mr. Kejriwal or Atishi.

In his resignation letter, Mr. Gahlot attributed his decision to AAP’s “diminishing credibility” on the issue of cleaning the Yamuna and ‘Sheeshmahal’, a derogatory term used by the BJP for the prime minister’s renovated residence.

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh accused Mr. Gehlot of reading the BJP’s script.

Mr. Kejriwal remained silent on the resignation. At a press conference to welcome former BJP MLA Anil Jha to AAP, Mr. Kejriwal was asked about Mr. Gehlot’s sudden resignation.

However, the former Chief Minister refused to respond and handed over the microphone to senior party leader Durgesh Pathak, who was sitting next to him.
Mr. Pathak said Kailash Gehlot was questioned and raided by the ED and the Income Tax Department for several months. Other party leaders did not mince words, saying openly that Mr. Gahlot could not stand the pressure and decided to go with the flow.

Sanjay Singh said, “Kailash Gehlot was under pressure through ED-CBI raids and is speaking according to the script of the BJP. The Modi washing machine started working before the Delhi elections. Now many leaders will be included in the BJP through this.”