As large parts of the national capital were submerged after heavy rainfall and visuals of severe waterlogging from across Delhi flooded social media on Thursday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tore into the BJP’s Rekha Gupta government, pointing out that it reduced the city to chaos within just one year. AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP is selectively highlighting Minto Bridge while ignoring the fact that the entire city was reeling under waterlogging, broken roads and overflowing garbage. AAP had resolved the Minto Bridge waterlogging problem within the first two years of forming the government.
AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal said, “What I find most ridiculous is their obsession with Minto Bridge. We resolved the Minto Bridge waterlogging problem within the first two years of coming to power. Now they are showing Minto Bridge, but they refuse to see the waterlogging across the rest of Delhi. The entire city is submerged. There is severe waterlogging in every part of Delhi, garbage is piling up everywhere, and roads have fallen apart. In just one year, they have reduced Delhi to a condition that people have never seen before.”
AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj took a swipe at the Rekha Gupta government, saying, “BJP’s so-called development is flowing away from every corner of Delhi. This road was built just recently. Public money was spent on it only a short while ago. Now, both the water and the BJP government’s reputation are flowing away. This time, even Sadar Bazar, Asia’s largest wholesale market, has been submerged.”
He further said, “The rain on Wednesday and Thursday has left waterlogged streets across Delhi. Water has entered people’s homes, and the resulting traffic chaos has forced commuters to remain stuck in jams for two to three hours. Delhi has never witnessed such terrible conditions before.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj added, “I don’t know why Parvesh Verma is unaware of this. Perhaps officials never informed him. In 2022 and 2023, when Arvind Kejriwal’s government was in power, a permanent solution to the Minto Bridge waterlogging problem was implemented. The drain that had been blocked because of the construction of the BJP office, which caused waterlogging at Minto Bridge, was equipped with a pumping system to ensure proper drainage.”
He further said, “But today, the visuals emerging from Sangam Vihar, Sadar Bazar, Asia’s largest wholesale market, and several other parts of Delhi show unprecedented and horrific waterlogging. Delhi has never witnessed such frightening conditions before. The BJP government has ruined Delhi.”
During a media interaction, AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar stated, “Rekha Gupta is the Chief Minister of Delhi, and all four engines are with the BJP. Four agencies are responsible for Delhi’s drains. The first is the Public Works Department, which is responsible for the large drains along Delhi’s major roads. The second is the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi), which manages the smaller drains inside the city as well as some major drains. The third is Delhi’s Flood and Irrigation Department, which is responsible for the major drain passing through Shahdara into which all other drains flow. The fourth is the DDA (Delhi Development Authority), which also controls several drains.”
He pointed out, “All four agencies are under Rekha Gupta. Therefore, she can no longer make excuses. She has already made enough excuses, but she will not be able to do so anymore. How long will she continue to run away from responsibility? She will now have to take responsibility.”
Kuldeep Kumar further said, “All four departments under Rekha Gupta submitted false reports and pocketed public money. A massive scam has taken place in the desilting of drains across Delhi. If an investigation is conducted, a scam worth crores of rupees in drain desilting will be exposed, just like the scam that surfaced in the Health Department. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta can no longer escape responsibility.”
He asserted, “Delhi now has a four-engine BJP government, yet the city is drowning. Roads across Delhi are flooded. Water is entering people’s flats, apartments, lanes and jhuggis. BJP MLAs, the BJP government and Rekha Gupta herself are trying to evade responsibility, but they will not be able to do so because the people of Delhi will not spare them.”
Senior AAP leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the MCD Ankush Narang stated, “Just two days of rain in the national capital have exposed all the claims made by the BJP’s four-engine government. The main road in Laxmi Nagar is submerged under knee-deep water. Ordinary citizens, shopkeepers, schoolchildren and daily commuters are being forced to suffer immense hardship. Is this the BJP’s so-called four-engine governance model? If Delhi’s roads turn into ponds after every spell of rain, who will account for the crores of rupees spent in the name of preparations? Reports of continuous waterlogging and traffic disruption are emerging from several parts of Delhi.”
In another post on X, Ankush Narang said, “The so-called development carried out by BJP MLA Ravi Negi is clearly flowing through the streets of Vinod Nagar. Many reels have been made showing boats on NH-24. Now come and make a reel from the lanes of Vinod Nagar as well, so that the people can also see the truth of your development model. Under the BJP government, there is no development, only corruption and hollow publicity. People are troubled by waterlogging, damaged roads and administrative mismanagement, while BJP representatives are visible only in front of cameras, not on the ground.”
