After Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena approved a probe into the purchase of 1,000 low-floor buses by the Delhi Government, the AAP on Sunday hit back at him saying buses were never purchased and tenders were cancelled.
In a series of Press conferences, AAP MLAs claimed the CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry and the agency could not find anything a year ago. The AAP however, said it is not against any probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or any other agency in the matter.
But, it is “unfortunate” that Saxena, who is facing allegations of corruption, has endorsed a probe into tender process for procurement and maintenance of buses by the Delhi Government “for the second time” in a month even as the CBI is already conducting a “preliminary inquiry” into the case and yet to claim any breakthrough, the party said. “In this matter, neither a single bus was purchased nor even a rupee was paid to anybody.
Then where did the corruption take place?” AAP's chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj told a press conference. The Arvind Kejriwal government put the tender process on hold after “some inquiry” was initiated against it, he said. “It was decided not to go ahead with the tender process till the conclusion of the inquiry. It is still on hold for the past two years and we could not purchase even a single bus,” Bharadwaj said.
The CBI, which had registered a PE (preliminary inquiry) case in the matter, has also been conducting a probe into it for about one-and-a-half years but it is yet to claim any breakthrough.
“But, the LG (Saxena), who wakes up every morning and starts levelling fake and baseless corruption charges against his own Delhi government, has recommended CBI probe into the matter yesterday for the second time in a month just to deflect public attention from the corruption charges levelled against him,” the AAP spokesperson charged. “Only three weeks ago, he had recommended a CBI probe into the matter,” he said, adding it is "unfortunate". The AAP leaders have levelled three “big and serious allegations” of corruption against Saxena “with proof”, Bharadwaj said.
“But instead of coming out and say that he is ready to face a probe, Saxena is staging a new drama every day by levelling baseless allegations against the Kejriwal dispensation,” he said.
In a video message, AAP MP Sanjay Singh hit out at Saxena on the issue and alleged that the LG has been levelling one after another “baseless allegations” against the Kejriwal government as “he wants commission from the contractors” in award of the government works. “You deal with the contractors directly for commission in award of work.
This business of loot and corruption that you ran at KVIC is not possible in Delhi govt,” he said. He demanded that the BJP-led Centre order a probe into allegations of corruption against Saxena and “put him behind the bars”. In another press conference, Durgesh Pathak, the AAP MLA from Rajinder Nagar, said that LG wants re-investigation of cases in which the CBI has already given a clean chit. “LG has only one aim behind the allegations, he wants contractors to pay him a cut in all tenders. I plead before the LG, if you want a cut, talk to the contractors directly, why are you harassing us?,” said Pathak.
Atishi, AAP MLA from Kalkaji said that Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal is now a national alternative to the Prime Minister.