CM Rekha Gupta must clarify whether third-party audit of desilting was conducted or not: Saurabh Bharadwaj

Amid fresh scenes of waterlogging across the capital after just one spell of rain, AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj launched a blistering charge against the BJP’s Delhi Government, questioning the fate of crores spent on desilting. He demanded to know whether a third-party audit—mandated by the High Court itself—was ever conducted. “Was there large-scale corruption in the name of desilting? A thorough investigation must be conducted,” Saurabh Bharadwaj said, calling for the immediate public release of the audit report. He urged CM Rekha Gupta to clarify whether the audit took place at all and held her accountable for the city’s chronic waterlogging crisis.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, senior leader and AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj stated, “Tuesday’s rainfall in Delhi can at best be described as ordinary. Excluding the Ridge area, most parts of Delhi did not even record 100 mm of rain. In comparison, Delhi saw 288 mm of rainfall in June 2024 alone—more than three times the amount of rain that fell on Tuesday. Yet the city witnessed scenes that have never been seen before. Key arterial roads such as ITO, Zakira, the road in front of Ambedkar Stadium, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, and roads in Lutyens’ Delhi outside the residences of Ministers Parvesh Verma and Kapil Mishra were completely submerged.”

The AAP Delhi State President continued, “Along with these major roads, Connaught Place—considered the heart of Delhi—was also inundated. We have never before heard of water flooding Connaught Place. Shops were submerged. Sadar Bazaar market was underwater. This is the condition of Delhi even after grand claims made by BJP’s CM and ministers. Crores of rupees were awarded in desilting contracts by BJP-led MCD, the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, the PWD, the DDA, and the NDMC. Despite that, Delhi drowned. This directly points to massive corruption in the name of desilting—no one can deny it anymore.”

Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “If the BJP government is so keen on ordering investigations into alleged corruption every other day, the Aam Aadmi Party demands that an investigation be launched into the crores worth of desilting contracts. This is especially necessary because Connaught Place, which has never flooded during rain, was completely submerged. What has the BJP government done differently that caused this? We have received information indicating something was tampered with in Connaught Place. Something was done by the government itself that led to this flooding.”

He added, “The BJP government was entirely focused on ‘saving’ what has now been dubbed the ‘Republic of Minto Bridge.’ Minto Bridge has been made into a full-fledged state—its own CM, its own minister, its own LG—all assigned to protect it. As a result of all this focus on Minto Bridge, the BJP government ended up submerging Connaught Place. This is what the local people are saying. Therefore, an investigation must be launched into why Connaught Place was flooded. Those who were awarded hundreds of crores worth of desilting contracts must be investigated.”

Posing a direct question to CM Rekha Gupta, Saurabh Bharadwaj pointed out, “The Delhi High Court has already said that most desilting work is merely on paper and is riddled with large-scale corruption. Therefore, the court directed that a third-party audit by an independent agency be conducted for all desilting work. This order was issued on 8 April 2024. The High Court mandated that all desilting done by PWD or MCD must be independently audited.”

“So we ask CM Rekha Gupta: if you conducted this third-party audit, then make the report public. Because Delhi is drowning and your desilting claims have failed. Since it was court-mandated, the audit must have been conducted. Massive corruption in the name of desilting is evident across the city. An investigation must be held to determine who is responsible for it,” he demanded.

Saurabh Bharadwaj took a jibe at BJP’s leadership and governance, saying, “The BJP has created a new state in the form of Minto Bridge. Rekha Gupta is its Chief Minister and Parvesh Verma is the PWD Minister of that state.”

BJP has turned Minto Bridge into a separate state—Rekha Gupta is its Chief Minister and Parvesh Verma is its PWD Minister: Saurabh Bharadwaj

Responding to media queries, Saurabh Bharadwaj quipped, “We had heard that Rekha Gupta is only the Chief Minister of Minto Bridge. On Tuesday, we got confirmation that BJP has officially created a new state called ‘Minto Bridge State,’ with Rekha Gupta as its CM and Parvesh Verma as its PWD Minister. They are responsible for maintaining the area. Ironically, there was no waterlogging at Minto Bridge in 2021 or 2022. But on Tuesday, even Minto Bridge was submerged, and barricades had to be put up. I posted on X: ‘Republic of Minto Bridge – all visas to Minto Bridge now cancelled. Barricades have been put across the entire state.’”

The Aam Aadmi Party has demanded immediate action and a full-scale inquiry into the BJP’s handling of desilting funds and infrastructure management, holding them directly responsible for the worsening state of Delhi’s drainage systems.