In limbo: Delhi Minister Raaj Kumar Anand quit his post, but he can't leave just yet

Earlier this week, Delhi MLA Raaj Kumar Anand resigned from his office and from the Aam Aadmi Party, saying he could not "tolerate injustice."

However, the Patel Nagar MLA can't leave his post just yet. The legislator's resignation - which he sent to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday - is stuck in limbo, with the man responsible for accepting it in custody.

Under normal circumstances, Kejriwal would have accepted the resignation and sent it onward to the Lieutenant Governor, who would have then forwarded it to the President for approval.

Once Anand's resignation passed through these three levels, the Delhi Assembly would be responsible for confirming his exit and issuing a notification.

"Once approved by President, a gazette notification would have been issued by Delhi Legislative Assembly that Raaj Kumar Anand ceases to be a member of the House following his resignation,” former Delhi Assembly secretary SK Sharma told Times of India.

Unfortunately for Anand, the Chief Minister is in judicial custody in connection with a Central government probe into the Delhi excise policy scam.

According to a Delhi government official, there is no possibility that Anand's resignation will reach Kejriwal in the near future.

The office of the Delhi Assembly's Speaker also said it has not received the resignation.

With the Delhi government already in chaos, Anand's resignation and the subsequent confusion is only going to add to an already complex situation.

Ideally, Anand's resignation would have been accepted and then the Delhi Chief Minister would name a replacement for his position.

But now, with the MLA having left his office, and unlikely to go back, there are likely to be several routine matters requiring his attention that will fall by the wayside.

Anand handled seven portfolios, including social welfare, labour, employment, and scheduled caste and scheduled tribe welfare.

Seeing as the appointment of a new minister cannot be made by anyone else except Kejriwal, the Delhi government is going to be hamstrung by Anand's departure.

A senior AAP functionary told TOI that Kejriwal’s wife and lawyers might speak with the Chief Minister soon.

“CM would have heard the news of Anand’s resignation on television or read in the newspapers so far. His wife and legal aides will now discuss the issue with him one-on-one,” the functionary said, adding that “the situation is unprecedented and requires legal intervention."

Kejriwal is in judicial custody till April 15.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said governance in Delhi was “paralysed” because of Kejriwal’s incarceration and Anand's resignation.

“Development works in Delhi were on standby for a long time, but now even routine administrative decisions are not taking place,” Sachdeva claimed.

“Raaj Kumar Anand resigned on Wednesday, but even 24 hours later, his resignation has not reached the Chief Minister and there is no government order on who will now handle those seven portfolios,” he added.