NEW DELHI: Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Wednesday rejected the Aam Aadmi Party’s allegations of irregularities in the procurement of bicycles under the Vidya Vahini scheme, saying the bicycles were procured through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) after a transparent bidding process.
Addressing a press conference, Sood said more than 3,000 girl students had received bicycles in the first phase of the scheme. “Our bicycles are bought from GeM. GeM has been a transparent portal for 10 years,” he said, adding that bids floated on the portal were subject to prescribed parameters. A bid could not proceed if it contained a restrictive clause or if a complaint against it remained unresolved, he said.
Sood accused the AAP of changing its allegations and figures regarding the procurement. He said the party had initially alleged a 70 per cent commission on August 3, followed by a claim of 40 per cent commission, or a Rs 36 crore loss out of an alleged `90 crore scam, on August 6. On August 7, the figures were revised to 43 per cent and 66 per cent, while on August 8, the party claimed a 75 per cent figure, he said.
“Their changing figures expose their political desperation,” Sood said. He said the procurement was conducted strictly in accordance with statutory guidelines through GeM. According to Sood, the system rejects tenders containing restrictive or biased clauses.
“No vendor or party submitted a single complaint on the GeM portal during the bidding window. The tender was awarded strictly to the lowest eligible L1 bidder chosen by the system,” the minister said.
Sood said Education Department officials had followed all codal formalities and rejected the opposition’s claims as baseless. “In today’s era, everything is transparently available on GeM. Education Department officials followed all codal formalities. AAP is staging cheap theatrical dramas, just like their old EVM box stunt, to mislead the public,” he said.
The minister said AAP leaders had earlier questioned when women would receive `2,500 and alleged that they were now avoiding the House as the Rekha Gupta government was delivering the benefits directly to citizens.
Minister Says
Procurement conducted through transparent bidding process
Tender awarded strictly to lowest eligible bidder
Education Department followed all statutory and codal formalities
No party filed complaint during bidding window
