NEW DELHI | The BJP government’s Speaker in the Delhi Assembly ordered Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs out of the House after they demanded a discussion on the bicycle scam, drawing a sharp reaction from the Opposition. AAP Legislative Party Chief Whip Sanjeev Jha questioned why the Speaker was defending a BJP government known for carrying out scam after scam, saying the government had first done away with Question Hour and was now refusing to allow discussion on any issue. He said the Speaker must allow the Opposition to raise the matter in the House, as neither Question Hour is being held nor are AAP MLAs being allowed to participate in discussions.
Senior AAP leader and AAP’s Chief Whip in the assembly Sanjeev Jha said, “The BJP government is a government of scamsters and we have exposed yet another major scam. The bicycle that we purchased for ₹4,000 is now being provided to children by the BJP government for ₹7,000. A commission of ₹3,000 has been taken on 1.3 lakh bicycles.”
Sanjeev Jha further highlighted that the BJP government has carried out a scam of approximately ₹70 crore in bicycles meant for children, and said, “When the tender was floated for this, bicycle manufacturer Hero was also among the participants, but it did not receive the tender. Instead of the manufacturer, the tender was awarded to a trader. How can a trader offer a tender at a lower price than the manufacturing company?”
Sanjeev Jha said that one of the bidders who participated in the tender process had also complained to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) that the tender amount fixed itself was incorrect. “There was no pre-bid meeting before the tender, where all bidders could put forward their views on what the price of the bicycles should be. The absence of a pre-bid meeting clearly shows that ₹70 crore was looted through collusion,” he added.
The AAP MLA further stated that the AAP had demanded a discussion on the issue under Rule 55 today. He said the government was carrying out a scam, but it was incomprehensible why the Assembly Speaker was protecting it. “We have not come here to applaud the government’s loot. Today, when all the MLAs, including Kuldeep Kumar, Som Dutt and Prem Chauhan, wanted to put forward their views, we were not even allowed to speak and were thrown out,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Tilak Nagar MLA Jarnail Singh said, “The greed and corruption of the BJP’s Rekha Gupta government have reached such a level that they are now making money even from bicycles being given to schoolchildren. If someone buys a bicycle from the market, it costs ₹4,000, but under the Rekha Gupta government, the same bicycle is being purchased for ₹7,000, nearly double the price.”
Jarnail Singh pointed out that the biggest proof of this is that instead of purchasing the bicycles directly from the company, they are being purchased from a market dealer to make a hefty profit. “The BJP government should be ashamed of carrying out such thefts openly,” he asserted.
The MLA further said it was surprising that neither the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was going after them, nor was the police registering an FIR against them, and nor was the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigating the matter. “The BJP government is now shamelessly challenging Delhiites, saying that it will continue looting every day and that anyone who wants to stop it should try,” he said.
Jarnail Singh concluded, “Delhiites elected this government and are now regretting voting for the BJP because the BJP government is sucking the blood of Delhiites every day. This government is taking the country and Delhi backwards every day. The helplessness of the people is that they cannot do anything against the BJP government and its corruption at present, but times always change.”
