AAP Leaders Call Case Against 2 Delhi Ex Ministers "Political Vendetta"

New Delhi:

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched an attack on the BJP-led central government, questioning the secrecy around the first information report (FIR) registered against former Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain. The AAP alleged selective media leaks and suppression of the FIR to avoid public scrutiny.

"Why hide the FIR if it contains valid allegations? Is it so flimsy that the BJP fears public ridicule?" AAP leaders, calling the case a blatant misuse of investigative agencies.

Mr Bharadwaj cited official records showing the hospital projects in question were sanctioned between 2016 and 2018, while he assumed ministerial office only in March 2023. He emphasised there is no proof of corruption in these projects or the HIMS (Hospital Information Management System), which was announced in 2016-17.

Mr Bharadwaj, who is also the AAP Delhi chief, questioned why only two former ministers were named in the FIR while all responsible health and PWD officers were spared.

He said the Lieutenant Governor's press note on June 24 referred to projects from 2018-19 and 2021, but the anti-corruption bureau chief's press note mentioned only 2017-18 projects, raising questions on consistency.

Former minister Satyendar Jain also criticised the timing and nature of the allegations, calling them baseless and politically motivated. The AAP demanded the immediate public release of the FIR, asserting that transparency would reveal the case to be a "mockery of law."

The ACB filed the case against Mr Bhardwaj and Mr Jain over alleged embezzlement of funds allocated for health infrastructure projects during the previous AAP government.

The case, filed under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, is based on a complaint by former Leader of the Opposition and current assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta.

According to the FIR, 24 hospital projects worth Rs 5,590 crore were sanctioned during 2018-2019. However, most of these projects remained incomplete, with significant and unexplained cost escalations.

Similarly, a Rs 1,125 crore ICU hospital project comprising seven pre-engineered facilities with a total of 6,800 beds is only 50 per cent complete, nearly three years after it began. Some Rs 800 crore has already been spent, despite the project initially having a six-month completion timeline.

The ACB reported unauthorised construction at government hospitals in Jwalapuri by Parnika Commercial and Estate Pvt Ltd and in Madipur by Ramacivil India Construction Pvt Ltd.