New Delhi: The BJP’s Delhi unit opened a new battlefront against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the national capital on December 6, alleging corruption in the Irrigation and Flood Department. During a joint press conference on December 6, BJP’s Delhi chief, Virendra Sachdeva, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, RS Bidhuri, claimed irregularities in the awarding of tenders by the Flood and Irrigation Department, along with discrepancies in payments made to contractors. They presented what they called a fresh expose against the AAP Government.

Virendra Sachdeva asserted that corruption had permeated every department of the Delhi Government. He alleged that, in response to the BJP bringing the tendering and other scams in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to light over the last couple of weeks, the AAP regime, under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's leadership, was attempting to create an illusion of a water crisis in the national capital to impede or delay investigations.

Stating that the Delhi BJP was actively working to uncover alleged corruption in various departments of the Delhi Government, Virendra Sachdeva demanded a high-level probe into the purported misdeeds across departments. He emphasized that the corruption in the Irrigation and Flood Department was not a minor issue but part of a larger conspiracy to loot public funds.

Further alleging four instances of manipulation in the tendering process, Sachdeva claimed that, under pressure from a minister in the Kejriwal Government, bills were falsified, and payments were made from the public exchequer without any corresponding work on the ground. During the joint press conference, the BJP leaders showcased purported video clips to support their claims that no work was done at the DJB project sites, as asserted by the Government.

Virendra Sachdeva went on to allege that 95 percent payment was made in connection with four tenders worth Rs 14,64,000 that were floated for sites that do not exist. He claimed that four contracts, worth Rs 7,11,000, were awarded to contractors, three of which were given to the same contractor. A payment of Rs 7,7,000 was made, but the project for which the money was paid only existed on paper, according to Sachdeva. He accused payments of being made fraudulently, with no actual work carried out on the ground.

Virendra Sachdeva informed that the party plans to bring this matter to the attention of the Lieutenant Governor and will demand a high-level inquiry into the workings of the Irrigation and Flood Department. Harish Khurana, Secretary of Delhi BJP, Vikram Mittal, Head of Media Relations, and Sanket Gupta, an advocate, were also present at the joint press conference.

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