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Kejriwal picks his team
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Divisions in Cong over support to AAP
Ghaziabad: Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday finalised his team of ministers that includes his trusted associate Manish Sisodia and five others but was embarrassed with open dissent from a newly-elected MLA over his being kept out of the government.
The task of giving shape to the government was undertaken on a day deep divisions came to the fore in Congress over extending support to AAP in government formation.
However, late in the night Congress sources set at rest reports that moves were on to immediately withdraw the support.
Kejriwal, who is likely to be sworn-in as Chief Minister on Thursday, sent to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung a list of six ministers, including the names of Sisodia, a former journalist who won from Patparganj constituency, Rakhi Birla, the giant killer who defeated PWD Minister Rajkumar Chouhan, Somnath Bharti (defeated Women and Child Development Minister Kiran Walia) Saurabh Bhardwaj, Girish Soni and Satendra Jain.
Disclosing this, Sisodia denied there was any dissent.
He said picking up his team was the Chief Minister’s prerogative.
However, party sources said Vinod Kumar Binny, a two time corporator in the Delhi Municipal Corporation with Congress background, is sulking over his non-inclusion in the Cabinet.
An upset Binny walked out of a meeting with Kejriwal at his residence and told the media that he would address a press conference on Wednesday that could embarrass the party. The sources said efforts were on to pacify him in which leaders including Yogendra Yadav are said to be involved. Speculation is that he could be made the Speaker whose role will be important in a fractious House.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal is understood to have decided to pick up senior IAS officer, Rajendra Kumar as Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary. Like Kejriwal, 47-year-old Kumar, at present Higher Education Secretary, is an alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur.
Kumar met Kejriwal at his residence here. Chief Secretary D M Spolia also met Kejriwal. They were described as courtesy calls. Birla, Bharti, Jain and Soni met Kejriwal. (PTI)