The Delhi BJP on Tuesday met the CBI director to inform him about a “scam” in the procurement of 2.1 lakh LED streetlights by the Aam Aadmi Party government.
AAP denied the allegation and accused the BJP of “running a factory of lies”.
The BJP delegation, led by Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, demanded a probe into the alleged scam which, it claimed, was to the tune of ₹100 crore.
Mr. Gupta said that BJP MLAs met CBI Director, Rishi Kumar Shukla at his office and submitted a memorandum regarding the “scam” in procurement of LED streetlights.
“The Delhi government did not entrust the work to the municipal corporations whose mandate is to instal streetlights. It [the government] arbitrarily chose to outsource the tendering process to the power discoms, which are private players,” Mr. Gupta said, adding that the tenders were floated by the discoms to procure 2.1 lakh LED lights.
The Rohini MLA further alleged that the LED lights procured by the Delhi government through the discoms were costlier and have shorter warranty periods than those available in the open market.
In response to the accusations, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said: “The BJP has started a factory of lies. In the last 4.5 years, they have filed two dozen cases against the Delhi government, with the CBI and the Anti-Corruption Branch. Despite the fact that the BJP-ruled Centre controls these agencies, nothing has been found.”
Mr. Bhardwaj added that the discoms were merely executing agencies that invited tenders from the open market. The streetlights being installed are LED lights and they are far more economical than those being installed by the BJP-ruled municipal corporations in the city, he added.
