The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday cornered the BJP inside the Standing Committee meeting of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), flagging the brazen, institutionalised corruption thriving under BJP rule. AAP councillors raised a series of public-interest concerns, pointing to questionable decisions taken without oversight, unchecked financial misuse in the Health Department, and an emerging pattern where rules are bent to favour the powerful, even as elected representatives are denied funds for basic works in their wards.
The AAP said the contrast between stalled development on the ground and free rein given to officials operating under political patronage exposed the true priorities of the BJP-run MCD.
MCD Leader of Opposition (LoP), Ankush Narang, said that during the Standing Committee meeting held on Wednesday at the MCD Headquarters, Civic Centre, AAP Standing Committee members forcefully, factually and with complete seriousness placed critical public-interest issues concerning Delhi before the House. “The members stated in clear terms that any negligence on basic issues directly affecting the people of the capital, including health, sanitation, civic amenities and administrative accountability, would not be accepted,” he added.
Ankush Narang said that during the meeting, members drew the attention of the MCD administration towards public concerns and demanded concrete answers from the concerned officials, time-bound action and ensured transparency. “AAP members reiterated that protecting public interest and ensuring accountable governance remains their highest priority,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, during the Standing Committee meeting, AAP councillor Praveen Kumar said that the BJP’s triple-engine government is setting new benchmarks of corruption. “Recently a ₹30 crore scam has taken place in the Health Department, where items that were not required in hospitals were purchased without floating tenders, and that too of extremely poor quality. When these facts started coming to light and the opposition began raising questions, officials immediately started sending all the material directly to hospitals overnight.”
“This is the issue we raised today. It is a massive corruption and a clear failure of the BJP government. In Delhi, officials are openly looting through BJP leaders. On one hand, councillors do not have budgets to carry out work in their areas, and on the other, massive scams worth ₹30 crore are being carried out,” he said.
Praveen Kumar further said that recently many people lost their lives due to a fire in a restaurant in Goa. “A few days ago, an engineer travelling from Gurugram to Noida drowned to death. Despite the presence of administration, fire brigade, Noida Police and SDRF teams in what is considered Uttar Pradesh’s most posh area, a young man lost his life,”
“This happened because there were no resources. No one was ready to enter the water, citing cold water or the presence of iron rods. That boy did not drown; it is the administration of today’s BJP government in India that has drowned,” he said.
The AAP councillor said that in this context, the AAP had earlier raised a serious issue regarding Property No. B-99 in the Wazirabad Industrial Area, where Rajwada Banquet Hall is being run. He said the issue was raised in the Standing Committee that thousands of weddings are being organised there even though the property has been sealed by the MCD. “Despite being sealed, the property is functioning because senior BJP leaders and officials are involved. We placed this matter before the Standing Committee Chairman with complete documents and photographs of the orders issued by the MCD to the Delhi Police. The BJP government does not value human lives in Delhi, and corruption is openly flourishing,” he said.
Praveen Kumar said that during the Standing Committee meeting, the Chief Town Planner brought an agenda item, numbered 77. He said that under Sections 312 and 313 of the DMC Act, Parliament has given the Standing Committee the power that all building plans in Delhi must be placed before the Standing Committee and only then approved. “But today, in collusion with the BJP, the Chief Town Planner brought a proposal to do away with the need to bring maps before the Standing Committee and instead approve them independently. This is being done because it is a conduit for large-scale corruption,” he said.
He said that AAP opposed this incorrect proposal, following which the BJP rejected it during the meeting. “The triple-engine government has failed on all fronts in Delhi and is setting records of corruption,” he said.
The meeting was attended by Praveen Kumar, Ravinder Kaur, Mohammad Aamil Malik and Rafia Mahir.
