Govt rejects AAP’s allegations of bicycle scam
BJP MLA and Delhi Government spokesperson Harish Khurana on Sunday rejected AAP Delhi convenor Saurabh Bharadwaj’s allegations of a bicycle scam in the procurement of cycles for schoolgirls. Khurana said the procurement was conducted through a completely transparent process.
He further alleged that the AAP Government in Punjab purchased four lakh school bags from a Delhi-based company in party colours carrying the Chief Minister’s photograph, effectively shutting local Punjab manufacturers out of the bidding.
Earlier, the AAP on Sunday questioned the eligibility criteria and application process for the Delhi government’s Delhi Lakshmi Yojana, and alleged that the scheme’s 10-year residency requirement could exclude some women, objecting to the requirement of recommendation letters from MPs or MLAs.
Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said the residency condition and the application process should be reviewed. He questioned why applicants under the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana would need recommendations from MPs or MLAs. He urged Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to explain the rationale behind the requirement, saying women should not have to approach elected representatives to access benefits under the scheme.
Commenting on the allegations, Khurana said Bharadwaj had based his bicycle scam allegations solely on a complaint made by a private company and that the real objective was to divert public attention from the Punjab school bag scam and six separate exam paper leak cases in Punjab, and to shield Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
On the bicycle procurement, Khurana said bicycles are available in a wide range of models and price points, with prices in the Delhi market ranging from `4,000-5,000 to `40,000-50,000 depending on the model and features. He said the variation in prices reflects the market and not any irregularity. He said there has been no bicycle scam in Delhi and the procurement was done transparently.
On the Punjab school bag allegation, Khurana said the Punjab Government designed tender conditions that effectively excluded all local companies in the state from the bidding, and then purchased four lakh school bags from a Delhi-based company for free distribution to Class XI and XII students. He alleged the bags were made in yellow and blue, which he identified as AAP’s party colours, and carried the photograph of the Chief Minister.
Khurana said distributing bags in party colours to Class XI and XII students was comparable to an attempt to influence students who will become first-time voters after turning 18 ahead of next year’s Punjab Assembly elections. He said school bag manufacturers and traders in Punjab are upset because the government bypassed local industry by sourcing the bags from outside the state at what he described as arbitrary prices.
He said AAP leaders have always acted against the interests of Delhi and making baseless allegations reflects their longstanding approach. He said Bharadwaj is using a commercial complaint as political cover to distract from accountability in Punjab.
