As waterlogged streets bring Delhi to a halt, AAP senior leader and Delhi Unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj has launched a scathing attack on the BJP, squarely
holding the party responsible for the capital’s drainage collapse. With all civic agencies—MCD, NDMC, DDA, and the Delhi government—firmly under BJP’s control, Saurabh Bharadwaj declared that the party has “no excuse left to pass the buck.”
The former Delhi minister charged BJP appointed Lieutenant Governor (LG) and officials, with presiding over two years of phantom desilting exercises that never occurred on the ground—calling it “nothing but corruption.” Shockingly, he revealed that he, as the then Urban Development Minister, had flagged these irregularities, yet the LG chose not to act—“for reasons best known to him.” As Delhi drowns before the monsoon, Saurabh Bharadwaj demands answers for the criminal negligence and wilful apathy that enabled this collapse.
In a statement, senior AAP leader and Delhi Unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj exposed the BJP’s failure, citing false promises, institutional control, and deliberate inaction as the root causes behind the monsoon mismanagement in Delhi. “In March, during an interview, the Chief Minister of Delhi had claimed that this monsoon Delhi will not witness any waterlogging because they know how to solve the problems of Delhi and they have done all the planning with respect to waterlogging. However, in the last four rains which were witnessed in Delhi, there was severe waterlogging across Delhi. More than 9 people have died in rains before Monsoon arrived. The traffic jams could be witnessed for hours and the BJP and its government stand exposed,” he said.
The AAP Delhi Unit Chief held the BJP squarely responsible for the state of Delhi’s infrastructure, pointing out that every relevant authority is under the BJP’s direct control: “Today, the MCD, the Delhi government, the NDMC and the DDA, all four engines of the government are directly under BJP. Therefore, BJP is not left with any excuse to pass the buck on any other agency because every drain in the state of Delhi is under the direct control of BJP ruled agencies. Therefore, now Rekha Gupta is looking for excuses and now Rekha Gupta stands exposed because she knows that when the monsoon hits Delhi, there will be severe waterlogging across the state and she is now giving such frivolous statements because she knows that she has miserably failed in all aspects.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj further underlined the accountability measures taken during the AAP tenure and the resistance met from BJP-appointed officials: “When it comes to desilting exercises during the AAP government, it is a matter of fact and evidences are still available that the then Chief Secretary of Delhi, Mr. Naresh Kumar, who was very close to the BJP’s central government and LG, was asked categorically by the then UD Minister, Mr. Saurabh Bharadwaj, to do and undertake third-party audit of all the desilting exercise which has been done by various agencies.
He noted that these things are available on video and evidence can be produced whenever wanted. However, in spite of repeated complaints, the BJP’s LG decided not to take action against Mr. Naresh Kumar, the then Chief Secretary, and Mr. Anbarasu, the then PWD Principal Secretary.
Saurabh Bharadwaj concluded with a damning indictment of the BJP’s rule over Delhi’s civic infrastructure: “Therefore, any desilting exercise during last two years which did not happen on ground is nothing but a work of corruption and in spite of being raised by the then minister, the LG chose not to investigate the corruption for the reasons best known to the LG.”
The Aam Aadmi Party demanded accountability from BJP-led institutions and warned that the people of Delhi would not tolerate another monsoon season marred by administrative apathy and corruption.
