On the backdrop of the liquor excise policy probe in Delhi, the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has launched a series of fresh allegations against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the capital, this time going after the education model of the city.

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The BJP has called the Delhi education model the “extortion model”, alleging that the AAP government – led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal – has committed a scam worth crores in the name of redeveloping classrooms.

The BJP on Monday alleged a scam in the Delhi education department, saying the city government increased the budget for the construction of classrooms in its existing schools, ignoring the Central Public Works Department's guidelines.

Citing a Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) report sent to the Delhi government's vigilance department in 2020, the saffron party said the city government hiked the construction cost by Rs 326 crore, 53 percent more than the original tender amount, without floating a new tender.

Further, the BJP alleged that the AAP government “counted toilets as classrooms” to blow up the figures related to the school redevelopment in Delhi, saying that the education model of Arvind Kejriwal is actually an “extortion model”.

“Corruption is in the DNA of Arvind Kejriwal. It's not AAP sarkar but PAAP ki sarkar (government of sins). He and (Manish) Sisodia are experts in corruption... Where did this money go? Did it go in your pocket, Arvind Kejriwal ji? Did you take note of the report? What action did you take on it?" BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said.

Bhatia further alleged that the AAP government had promised to construct 500 new schools in Delhi, which never happened.

The BJP leader further said, “They then said they will build more classrooms in the existing schools. The number of rooms increased from 2,400 to 7,180. The construction cost was increased by up to 90 percent.”

This comes just as Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia remains under the heat of central agencies in the liquor excise policy case, with him being named as the number one accused in the FIR.

(With PTI inputs)

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