Kerala will continue to eat beef; BJP has no problem with it: Modi govt’s minister

New Delhi: With Arvind Kejriwal announcing that he will resign as Delhi Chief Minister soon and return to office only after the people's verdict on the allegations of corruption against him, the big question is who in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will get the top job.

Assembly polls in Delhi are due in February next year, even though Mr Kejriwal yesterday demanded that the election be held in November along with the Maharashtra polls. Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, too, has said he will go to the people and return to the top office only after re-election. This effectively means that the top leaders of AAP are not in the race for the Chief Minister's post.

Even though this Chief Ministerial stint will only be for a few months, the AAP leadership would be looking to choose a prominent leader who can articulate the party's position on key issues and has wide acceptability among the party ranks.

Here are five leaders who can make the cut

Atishi:

Delhi Minister Atishi, holding key portfolios such as education and PWD, is one of the key contenders. An Oxford University alumnus and a Rhodes scholar, Ms Atishi has worked extensively in the AAP's flagship exercise to overhaul education in Delhi's schools. An MLA from Kalkaji, the 43-year-old became a minister after Mr Sisodia was arrested in a corruption case linked to Delhi's now-scrapped liquor policy. When Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia were behind bars, Atishi articulated the party's position. On August 15, Mr Kejriwal chose her to hoist the tricolour at Delhi government's Independence Day event. While Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena foiled the plan, it was clear that the AAP leadership places a lot of faith in Ms Atishi.

Saurabh Bharadwaj: 

Mr Bharadwaj is a three-time MLA from Greater Kailash and holds portfolios such as vigilance and health in the Arvind Kejriwal government. He, too, was named a minister after Mr Sisodia's arrest in the liquor policy case. Mr Bharadwaj, who has worked as a software engineer in the past, was also a minister in Arvind Kejriwal's 49-day government. He is also a national spokesperson of the AAP and was articulating the party's position when its top leaders were in jail after being arrested by central agencies in corruption cases.

Raghav Chadha: 

A member of the AAP's national executive and political affairs committee, Mr Chadha is a Rajya Sabha MP from the party and one of its top faces. Mr Chadha has earlier worked as a chartered accountant and has been in the AAP since its inception. He has been an MLA from Rajinder Nagar and played a key role in the AAP's thumping victory in Punjab in the 2022 state polls. The 35-year-old is among the most prominent young politicians in the country and is known for articulating AAP's position on key issues in Parliament.
Kailash Gahlot: 

Kailash Gahlot:

A lawyer by profession, Mr Gahlot is among the senior members of the AAP government in Delhi and holds key portfolios such as transport, finance and home affairs. The 50-year-old leader is MLA from Delhi's Najafgarh constituency since 2015. An advocate who has practised in both Delhi High Court and Supreme Court, he has served as a member executive in the high court bar association between 2005 and 2007

Sanjay Singh: 

A Rajya Sabha MP since 2018, Sanjay Singh is one of the AAP's most prominent faces known for his spirited speeches in Parliament. The 52-year-old leader is among the founder members of the party and is a member of its national executive and political affairs committee. He is also a regular in the party's media interactions to articulate its position on key issues. Sanjay Singh was also arrested in connection to a corruption case linked to the Delhi liquor policy case and is currently out on bail, like Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to CJI D Y Chandrachud's house for Ganesha puja celebrations has raised doubts in the mind of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who questioned whether he would deliver 'justice' in the ongoing case the party has in the Supreme Court, given that the PM is the other party in the case.

Speaking to ANI, Raut said "Ganpathi festival is going on, people visit each other's houses. I don't have info regarding how many houses PM visited so far...but PM went to CJI's house and they together performed 'Aarti'."

He said that a custodian of the Constitution meeting politicians could raise doubts in the minds of people.

"In our case, other party is the central govt...Chief Justice should distance himself from this case because his relation with the other party in the case is openly visible," Raut continued.

He also raised questions if the CJI be able to give them justice in the case. "We are getting dates after dates and an illegal govt is going on...Shiv Sena and NCP were broken in such a way...we are not getting justice and PM Modi is taking a lot of interest in the illegal govt of Maharashtra, to save them," the Sena (UBT) leader continued.

Raut alleged that a doubt had been formed in Maharashtra's mind given the 'bond' the PM and the CJI seem to share.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, September 17, said the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 will be passed in the Parliament in the coming days. He said the Bill is committed to the management, preservation and misuse of Waqf properties.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Bill will meet from September 18 to 20. The JPC is scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 which seeks to amend the Waqf (Amendment) Act of 2013.

On September 14, a Muslim organisation headed by Congress MP Tariq Anwar demanded the rejection of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. The organisation alleged that the proposed legislation is an "indirect attempt to seize control of Muslim religious properties".

The All India Qaumi Tanzeem submitted 14 pages of suggestions and objections to the bill to the JPC through the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on August 8.

On September 11, a Rajya Sabha panel summoned Minority Affairs Ministry officials to explain reasons for the delay in completing the process for framing subordinate legislation under the 2013 Waqf law.

The new bill seeks to change the registration process for Waqf properties through a centralised portal. It proposes several things, including establishing a Central Waqf Council alongside state Waqf Boards with representation to Muslim women and non-Muslim representatives.

A contentious provision of the Bill is the proposal to designate the district collector as the primary authority in determining whether a property is classified as Waqf or government land.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill also aims at renaming the act to the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.