The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs on Friday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government during the Delhi assembly session over the recent reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India which flagged discrepancies in the database of a centrally sponsored health scheme and the cost overrun of the Dwarka Expressway.
The legislators called the expressway project the “biggest scam in 75 years” and demanded a thorough investigation into the irregularities by federal agencies like the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation.
AAP MLA from Kirari Rituraj Govind on Friday initiated a discussion on the issue. “The CAG has exposed the central government. This is the biggest scam in the history of independent India. ED and CBI should probe the Dwarka Expressway cost overrun,” Govind said. AAP Rajinder Nagar MLA Durgesh Pathak said “Even the BJP leaders should read the CAG report and then decide if the PM is corrupt or not”.
Meanwhile, BJP MLAs, including leader of opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, walked in demanding to be included in the discussion on the CAG report, a request that was denied by deputy speaker Rakhi Birla. The MLAs had earlier staged a walkout when the House did not allow a discussion on an alleged sting operation involving an AAP MLA. The BJP MLAs then raised slogans against the AAP government.
Birla said that the opposition MLAs walked out despite her requesting them to maintain decorum. “Do the BJP MLAs consider the House a park or a café?” she asked. Amid the drama, Birla asked Delhi minister Imran Hussain to conclude the discussion on the subject.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP MLA Vijender Gupta, in a statement, defended the central government on CAG report. “The Dwarka Expressway (DEP) falls under the National Corridors Efficiency Improvement (NCEI) component. It seems the CAG miscalculated the DEP’s average civil-cost, neglecting its unique features like elevated structures and tunnels,” Gupta said. Sachdeva said the expressway is an engineering marvel and a representative symbol of highway development in India. “Instead of trying to discredit a marvel, the AAP should present its own infrastructure development projects,” Gupta said.
Since the CAG report was tabled, the AAP has been accusing the central government of scams. Several party workers also protested at the under-construction expressway on Wednesday. According to media reports, the CAG audit report on the implementation of Phase-I of the “Bharatmala Pariyojana” highway projects flagged how the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) decision to go for an elevated carriageway on the Haryana portion of the Dwarka Expressway pushed up the construction cost to ₹251 crore per kilometer from ₹18.2 crore per kilometer.
Additionally, a performance audit by the CAG found faults in the database of Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), including invalid names, unrealistic dates of birth, duplicate health IDs and unrealistic family sizes. The government’s auditor tabled the report in Parliament on August 9.