AAP Slams Delhi BJP's "4-Engine" For "Unpreparedness", Rekha Gupta Hits Back

A political slugfest erupted between the ruling BJP and the AAP on Friday after the season's first rainfall battered Delhi, leading to widespread waterlogging, traffic jams, flight delays, and a tragic house collapse that claimed four lives.

While the AAP slammed the BJP's "4-engine" for "unpreparedness", Chief Minister Rekha Gupta hit back, saying the previous Arvind Kejriwal-led party regime left behind a broken system.

"I want to thank god for this untimely rain today, which is an alarm for the whole system. This is not a one-day problem but an issue of backlog of development, system breakdowns, and apathy of administration in Delhi in the past 10-15 years," CM Gupta said.

She took a pointed dig at former chief minister Kejriwal, saying, "These matters would not have reached Kejriwal's ears as he used to enjoy sound-proof sleep in his 'Sheesh Mahal,' oblivious of thunderstorms, broken trees and waterlogging." The AAP, which governed Delhi until recently, held a press conference accusing the BJP of failing to make adequate preparations for the monsoon despite timely weather alerts.

Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "Today, Delhi saw its first rainfall and the entire city is submerged - roads, colonies, and underpasses are all waterlogged. This is the reality of the 'four-engine' BJP government." Mr Bharadwaj pointed out that the BJP now controls all major civic and infrastructure bodies in the city - the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Public Works Department (PWD), and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

"No more excuses. Whether the agency is under the Centre or the state, they are all under BJP control now," he said.

"If a road belongs to the NDMC, it's the Centre's responsibility. If it's under DDA, it's the LG's. If it's the PWD or flood control department, it's the Delhi government's. And if it belongs to MCD, then again BJP is responsible. All four engines are of the BJP now," he added.

AAP also questioned the performance of the PWD, citing earlier claims by Minister Parvesh Verma that 445 waterlogging hotspots in Delhi were under close watch.

"Yet, waterlogging happened at 400 of those spots today. How many engineers have been suspended? The minister hasn't told us," Mr Bharadwaj said.

He demanded that the report of the third-party audit on desilting - mandated by the Delhi High Court - be made public.

"Today's scenes clearly show that no actual desilting was done, but crores may have been spent. This looks like a scam," he alleged.

AAP leader and Leader of Opposition Atishi shared visuals of flooded arterial roads near ITO and Dhaula Kuan on X.

#4_इंजन_की_भाजपा_सरकार https://t.co/wPwS4B8yiK

— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) May 2, 2025

"Is this what the people of Delhi expected from the 4-engine BJP govt?" she said, apparently referring to the BJP being in power at the Centre, in Delhi, having a majority in the MCD, and the LG reporting to the Centre.

She added that waterlogging outside the PWD's ITO headquarters was "symbolic of the civic failure" of the BJP.

Responding to the criticism, the BJP defended its performance and shifted blame to the Kejriwal-led AAP government that preceded it.

"During Arvind Kejriwal's government, the ruling leaders would disappear during times of crisis," Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said in a statement.

"But after last night's storm, the chief minister, ministers, MLAs, mayor, councillors, and even MPs of Delhi's BJP government came out onto the streets and ensured immediate cleanup," he said.

Sachdeva said sanitation and drainage workers from the Delhi Jal Board and MCD began operations early in the morning, with relief and medical efforts mobilised in Jaffarpur Kalan, where four members of a family died when a tree fell on their house. "Our local BJP MLA and councillors were on the ground ensuring help," he said. Meanwhile, the PWD issued a detailed statement claiming that over 90 per cent of the waterlogging complaints were resolved within just two hours of the rainfall.

"PWD Minister Parvesh Verma inspected Minto Road and several other sites. Our teams worked overnight and used mobile pump units, super suction machines, and bell-mouth cleaning squads," the statement said.

Mr Verma asserted that under the BJP government, the system had become "accountable" in just two months.

"We are dealing with the sins of the past 10 years. It will take time to clean that up. But we have started. People have already begun to see the difference," he said.

He added that the department was now focusing on long-term, permanent solutions and building a time-bound response system to manage urban flooding.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Delhi after recording 77 mm of rainfall overnight.

The downpour caused major delays at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, with more than 200 flights disrupted across northern India, including those operated by Air India.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)