NEW DELHI: The vigilance directorate has recommended a probe by a “specialised agency” into an alleged scam in the construction of classrooms in government schools in the national capital, prompting the BJP to demand the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Reacting to it, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the BJP headquarters “writes a script” and issues it to the media. A report of the Delhi government’s vigilance directorate recommending the probe into the “Rs 1,300 crore scam” has been submitted to the chief secretary, official sources said.
The Central Vigilance Commission, in a report dated February 17, 2020, highlighted “glaring irregularities” in the construction of over 2,400 classrooms in Delhi government schools by the Public Works Department. The commission sent the report to the Delhi government’s vigilance directorate seeking its comments on the matter in February 2020.
“The directorate, however, kept sitting on the report for two-and-half years until Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena asked the chief secretary to inquire into the delay in August this year and submit a report,” a source said. The vigilance directorate has also recommended “fixing responsibilities” of the Education Department officials and PWD who were involved in the “bungling” of nearly Rs 1,300 crore, the sources said.
Responding to queries on the report, Sisodia said the BJP headquarters “writes a script” and issues it to the media. “There is no FIR, no charge sheet and I was reading in the news that the report has been sent to the chief secretary and the media, but not to the education minister,” he said.
Latching onto the issue, the BJP said the vigilance directorate’s report shows Kejriwal is only ‘worried about black money flowing to him and not about children’s education.” BJP’s national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia demanded that Kejriwal either dismiss his corrupt ministers or tender resignation. The government increased the scope of construction work in schools without floating any tender. They constructed toilets in schools and counted them as classrooms, he said. “He only worries about one thing — black money that is flowing to him,” he said.