Delhi Minister Raaj Kumar Anand Resigns From Kejriwal Cabinet, Quits AAP Over Corruption

Delhi Social Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand has resigned from the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Cabinet and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleging that the party was “neck deep into corruption”.

In a clear reference to the arrests of AAP leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy scam, he said, “I have handled seven portfolios as a minister in the Delhi government. The Aam Admi Party (AAP), which was born after a fight against corruption is now neck deep into corruption.”

“It has become difficult to remain in this party. So I am resigning. I don’t want my name to be associated with this corruption,” he added.

The minister also claimed that the AAP did not care about the representation of Dalits. “I don’t want to be part of a party that takes a backseat when Dalit representation is talked about. I am not joining any party,” he explained.

Anand sent his resignation to AAP General Secretary Sandeep Pathak.

Meanwhile, AAP leader Sanjay Singh has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was behind Raaj Kumar Anand’s move. “BJP is using central agencies such as Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to ‘break’ our ministers and MLAs. It’s a test for AAP ministers and MLAs,” he said.

“Anand was earlier called corrupt by BJP but now he will join the same party,” he added.

Anand, an MLA from Patel Nagar, is the first Delhi minister to quit after the arrest of Kejriwal in the liquor policy case. Following the arrest of former Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia, Anand was handling education, land and building, vigilance, services, tourism, art culture and language, labour, employment, health, and industries in addition to his existing portfolios.

Anand’s house was searched by the ED in a customs-linked money laundering case in November 2023. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in a complaint to a local court had alleged false declarations in imports for customs evasions of over ₹7 crore. The ED then filed a complaint against Anand.