L-G orders probe into 145-cr. teaching rip-off throughout AAP rule

Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Wednesday mentioned Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) V.Ok. Saxena has directed the Anti-Corruption Branch to research an alleged ₹145-crore rip-off by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) beneath the Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana, a scheme meant to supply free teaching to marginalised college students.

Addressing a joint press convention with Social Welfare Minister Ravinder Indraj Singh, Mr. Sood mentioned that the AAP authorities indulged in corruption in the course of the COVID-19 interval, utilizing a scheme meant for college kids from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) as a canopy for enormous monetary irregularities.

Mr. Sood mentioned the scheme had initially promised free teaching for SC/ST college students for exams akin to UPSC, NEET, and JEE.

“But sadly, AAP leaders indulged in corruption… This shouldn’t be solely an insult to Babasaheb’s imaginative and prescient but in addition a betrayal of hundreds of scholars who relied on this scheme to form their future,” he mentioned, vowing that the culprits won’t be spared.

Citing information, the Minister mentioned that whereas 4,900 college students have been enrolled in 2018 and a couple of,071 in 2019, the variety of college students claimed to have been coached between July 2021 and August 2022 shot up dramatically. Despite the scheme’s unique funds of ₹15 crore, teaching institutes submitted claims price ₹145 crore.

‘Fake payments’

Mr. Sood alleged that though information was submitted for almost 13,000 college students, solely 3,000 might be verified, with no supporting paperwork discovered for the remainder.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta echoed the allegations in a publish on X, claiming that “critical monetary misconduct” had occurred in 2020-21. “The funds of this scheme was solely ₹15 crore, however the AAP authorities forwarded information with faux payments exceeding ₹142 crore,” she wrote.

She additionally alleged that claims have been submitted with out supporting paperwork, functions lacked signatures, and a few establishments raised 100% claims within the names of Dalit college students who by no means really obtained teaching.

“AAP has insulted the beliefs of Babasaheb and tainted the sacred area of schooling,” Ms. Gupta mentioned, asserting that the Anti-Corruption Branch would examine the case totally and convey the responsible to justice. The L-G’s workplace is but to difficulty an official assertion.

The schemewas launched in 2018 to assist college students from SC, ST, and OBC communities with an annual household earnings of lower than ₹8 lakh. It aimed to supply free teaching for aggressive exams like engineering, medication, and civil companies, with the Delhi authorities overlaying the charges.

AAP response

In a pointy rebuttal, AAP issued a press release and urged the BJP to “transfer past rhetoric” and vendetta campaigns and deal with governance.

“They have shut down a functioning mannequin. The electrical energy, the well being companies, the schooling reforms –all halted. Instead of working, BJP leaders spend their days abusing AAP and Arvind Kejriwal. They haven’t any imaginative and prescient, no plan,” it mentioned.

AAP challenged the BJP to examine all facets of its infrastructure. “Check each brick in Delhi’s colleges, each needle in our Mohalla Clinics. Check the buses, the hospitals – verify all of it. But after you’re completed along with your witch-hunt, begin performing some actual work,” the celebration mentioned.