 "Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai resigns on health grounds")
Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai was relieved of the charge of the Transport Department as sought by him on health grounds and the portfolio has now been given to his cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain.
Rai, who is surrounded by controversies over the app-based premium bus service scheme, which has been mired in allegations of corruption, had said that he was "ready to go to jail" if corruption was proven against him.
Last week, Rai requested Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to relieve him from the responsibility of Transport Department on health grounds as he had recently undergone a major surgery.
Jain, who is known to be close to Kejriwal, already holds key portfolios of PWD, Health, Power and Home. The departments left with Rai now include Labour, Irrigation and Flood Control, General Administration Department (GAD), Development and Employment.
"The Lt Governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi with Chief Minister of National Capital Territory of Delhi is pleased to allocate portfolio of Transport Department to Satyendar Jain, Minister," a notification issued by GAD yesterday said.
Jain had temporarily taken care of the transport department for about 20 days when Rai had gone under a surgery to get a bullet removed from his neck and then physiotherapy treatment in Hyderabad.
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Rai yesterday said he had requested the Chief Minister to relieve him from the Transport Department portfolio as it had a very heavy workload.
He has been undergoing physiotherapy, which is expected to last three months, at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre and is housed in the hospital.
The two phases of the odd-even scheme were implemented under the leadership of Rai as Transport Department was involved in the execution of the road-rationing plan on the ground.
Last month, he had announced Premium Bus Service Scheme to encourage the car users to leave their vehicles and use public transport.
The premium bus service scheme
The AAP government had announced the launch of premium bus service scheme during the second phase of odd-even scheme. The service was scheduled to be launched on June 1 with registration of buses under the scheme through which people can book their seats on the lines of app-based cab aggregators in the national capital. However, the premium bus service scheme was put on hold after Lt Governor Najeeb Jung refused to give his nod to the project.
The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of Delhi Government had launched a probe into the premium bus service scheme notified by the Arvind Kejriwal government on the complaint of Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, who alleged that the government is trying to benefit a Gurgaon-based private bus aggregator.