Nangloi Jat MLA Raghuvinder Shokeen will be the new Cabinet minister in the AAP government in Delhi, an official statement said on Monday. Shokeen is a Jat leader from outer Delhi. The development comes a day after AAP’s prominent Jat leader and Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot quit the party and joined the BJP.
Former Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot joined BJP on Monday a day after resigning from the Aam Aadmi Party. Gahlot joined BJP in the presence of Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Harsh Malhotra, Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva and national media head Anil Baluni.
Addressing the media, Gahlot said efforts are being made to build a false narrative that his decision to quit the AAP was the result of ED and CBI pressure. “The fact is that the AAP compromised its values,” he said. Gahlot said it was his decision to join the BJP and he did not take the step under anyone’s pressure.
Gahlot, a prominent face of the AAP, also took a jab at Kejriwal as he flagged some awkward and embarrassing controversies like ‘sheeshmahal’, saying it makes everyone doubt if we still believe in being the ‘Aam Aadmi’. The AAP had claimed that Gahlot’s decision was influenced by cases being probed against him by central agencies.
Ex-Cong MLA Sumesh Shokeen Joins AAP
Former Congress MLA Sumesh Shokeen joined the AAP on Monday. The former MLA from Matiala joined the party in the presence of AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal. Welcoming Shokeen, Kejriwal said his joining will not only give a boost to the party in rural Delhi but also in other parts of the national capital.
“Before the AAP came to power, the people living in Delhi-Dehat were neglected and cut off from the main city,” Kejriwal said.
The AAP government improved connectivity, opened schools, hospitals, mohalla clinics and stadiums, and provided other facilities in outer Delhi areas, bringing them at par with other parts of the city, he said.
Shokeen said the AAP government improved connectivity to Delhi-Dehat areas and undertook various development works during its 10-year rule.
