AAP Protests Near Delhi Secretariat Over Alleged ₹40 Crore Bicycle Scam
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged a protest near the Delhi Secretariat on Monday, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of an alleged bicycle procurement scam worth ₹40 crore.
The party alleged that the Delhi government purchased 1.3 lakh bicycles under a welfare scheme at exaggerated rates and claimed that tender conditions were tailored to favor specific companies. The protesters demanded the immediate resignation of Education Minister Ashish Sood.
The bicycle distribution scheme was initially announced in March during the presentation of the annual budget by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. Under the scheme, ₹90 crore was allocated to distribute free bicycles to 1.3 lakh Class IX girls in government schools to help curb dropout rates. The government formally launched the initiative on July 31 by distributing bicycles to 3,000 students.
AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj said party leaders visited the Secretariat to meet the Chief Minister directly, but she refused to meet with them.
Mr. Bharadwaj stated that a bicycle available in the market for ₹4,000, with ₹200 paid in tax, was purchased by the government at ₹7,000 per unit for the 1.3 lakh order. He alleged that the government and the contractor jointly pocketed a commission of around ₹40 crore. He added that the party had submitted a complaint to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), but the agency had not registered an FIR, and the Chief Minister had maintained silence on the issue.
Mr. Bharadwaj said an AAP delegation would meet the Lieutenant-Governor on Tuesday to seek formal action regarding the bicycle procurement case along with other alleged scams.
Responding to the accusations, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor dismissed the demonstration, calling it a protest by a handful of AAP workers attempting to suppress internal frustration over party chief Arvind Kejriwal's 11 years in power. Mr. Kapoor stated that Mr. Kejriwal makes hit-and-run allegations against every scheme of the BJP government to avoid questions from his workers and the public.
