NEW DELHI: The BJP-led Delhi government on Wednesday accused the previous AAP-led regime of a Rs 145 crore scam during the Covid period under the Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana.
Delhi Minister Ashish Sood said that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had recommended an investigation into the matter, following which Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena directed the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) to initiate a probe.
Sood alleged that while the AAP government used Dr B R Ambedkar’s image for political gain, it disrespected his ideals by corrupting a scheme launched in his name. The scheme was aimed at providing free coaching to SC/ST/OBC/EWS/Minority students for competitive exams such as UPSC, SSC, DSSSB, NEET, and CLAT, but it was “severely misused,” he said.
Through a social media post, CM Rekha Gupta said the AAP government “looted the future of Dalit children” and misused Ambedkar’s name. She said the scheme was marred by fake applications—many without documentation or signatures—and added that some coaching institutes submitted 100% fraudulent claims. She assured that the ACB would investigate the financial irregularities thoroughly and the guilty would be brought to justice. “The people who committed corruption in Babasaheb’s name will be made accountable for every single rupee,” Gupta said, accusing AAP of using Dalits for political optics rather than real empowerment.
Sood said the scheme, launched in 2018, was designed to transfer government funds directly to coaching institutes. However, “self-proclaimed unemployed leaders” of AAP turned it into a “corrupt nexus”, he alleged. In 2018, about 4,900 students were supposed to receive coaching, and in 2019, the figure was 2,071. But during the Covid crisis, the number of claims surged abnormally.
The scheme, originally allocated Rs 15 crore, saw inflated claims totalling Rs 45 crore between July 2021 and August 2022. Despite this, no due process was followed, and the AAP government later advised coaching institutes to seek legal redress for unpaid dues.
Investigations revealed that data was submitted for 13,000 students, but only 3,000 could be verified. The rest had no proper documentation or register entries. Even if all verified students had enrolled in the most expensive IAS coaching, Sood said, the total expense would not exceed Rs 30 crore, making the Rs 145 crore claim “completely unjustified”. SC/ST Welfare Minister Ravinder Indraj Singh said nearly 35 private coaching centres are under scrutiny, many of which failed to provide verifiable data for even 100 students.