Sanjeev Arora to remain without portfolio as govt hands over his depts to others
The reshuffle assumes significance coming barely days before elections to 105 urban local bodies, including eight municipal corporations, on May 26.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjeev Arora Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjeev Arora, who has been arrested by the Enforcement directorate in a money laundering case, will continue to remain in the Punjab Cabinet but without portfolio as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday redistributed the department held by him among ministers Aman Arora, Harjot Singh Bains, and Tarunpreet Singh Sond.
Multiple sources in the government said that Arora will continue to remain in the Cabinet as he has not tendered resignation as minister.
“It is no where written in the Constitution that a minister has to be dismissed from the Cabinet. He has to resign. The party will not ask Arora to resign and he will continue to be a Cabinet minister. His portfolios had to be taken away for administrative reasons,” said a source.
Sond, who is the rural development, panchayats, tourism, and labour minister, has been assigned the power portfolio. Education Minister Bains has been allocated the local government department while Aman Arora, who holds the new and renewable energy sources portfolio, has been given charge of the industries and commerce and investment promotion department
This comes two days after the ED arrested Sanjeev Arora in connection with an alleged Rs 100 crore GST fraud-linked money laundering case involving certain entities linked to him. Arora, 62, was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act following raids conducted at his official residence in Chandigarh’s Sector 2 on Saturday morning.
While the AAP dubbed the ED raid at Arora’s residence and his subsequent arrest as politically motivated, Hampton Sky Realty Limited, where the minister served as a director, said the company has faith in the legal process and is fully cooperating with all the statutory authorities and will continue to do so. A special PMLA court in Gurgaon on Sunday remanded Arora in ED custody for a week
The reshuffle assumes significance coming barely days before elections to 105 urban local bodies, including eight municipal corporations, on May 26. The local government department oversees urban civic administration and works closely with municipal corporations and councils during the elections.
The power department, meanwhile, is currently in focus as it enters one of its most challenging phases with the paddy transplantation season around the corner. Punjab traditionally witnesses peak electricity demand during summer and the paddy sowing season when agricultural consumption surges sharply. The department will be under pressure to ensure uninterrupted supply to farmers while balancing domestic and industrial demand. Earlier, Arora had assured that there will be no power outages in Punjab beginning May 1.
The Industries Department is crucial too as it had been working aggressively projecting industrial investment and employment generation as key achievements ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Share
