Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia said on Thursday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -led central government will not bow down against him. Earlier, President Draupadi Murmu gave his approval to register an FIR against AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain in the alleged scam of two thousand crore rupees in the construction of classes in Delhi government schools.
Sources said that the President has approved an FIR against him in connection with the alleged scam during the Delhi government led by Arvind Kejriwal.
Sisodia said in a statement, “It has come to my notice that the central government has lodged an FIR against me and Satyendra Jain for the construction of school buildings and classes.” Former Delhi Education Minister Sisodia said, “I want to tell the BJP and the central government to register as many cases. Whether it is against me, against Satyendra Jain, against Atishi, against Arvind Kejriwal or against any other leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, we will not bow before the BJP.
Sisodia reminded the BJP of its election promises and asked when it would fulfill them. He said, “Tomorrow is Holi. Where is the free cylinder you promised to give to the families of Delhi? And when will you fulfill your promise to give Rs 2,500 per month to the women of Delhi? ‘
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) in a report dated 17 February 2020 highlighted the “gross irregularities” by the Public Works Department (PWD) in the construction of more than 2,400 classes in Delhi government schools.
The President’s approval was received under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which relates to “investigation or exploration of crimes related to the recommendations or decisions taken by the public servant in the discharge of government work or duties”.
In July 2019, BJP leader Harish Khurana and then rebel MLA Kapil Mishra, who are now ministers in the Delhi government, lodged a police complaint about the alleged scam.
According to a report prepared by the Delhi Government’s Anti -Corruption Bureau (ACB), the complainants have alleged that there has been a scam of over Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classes and school buildings in Delhi. This work was done by the Delhi government at a highly increased cost. The alleged scam is associated with construction of around 12,748 classes.
The ACB report said that a total of Rs 2,892.65 crore was spent on the construction of classes and school buildings. They were reportedly constructed at a rate of Rs 8,800 per sq ft, while it is well known that the average construction cost (even for the builder of flats) was around Rs 1,500 per sq ft.
