AAP Alleges ₹22,000 Crore Rice Scam by Delhi BJP Government

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has leveled explosive allegations against the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) administration in Delhi, claiming a planned ₹22,000 crore scam involving subsidized rice. Bharadwaj stated that the Delhi government, in collaboration with an Assam-based corporation, requested 31,000 metric tons of heavily subsidized rice per week from the Food Corporation of India (FCI). According to the AAP leader, this rice was ostensibly intended for distribution among the national capital's poor but never reached a single beneficiary.

The AAP leader alleged that the diverted rice was instead sold to a private firm in Haryana at significant profits. Bharadwaj identified Manjinder Singh Sirsa, the current Minister of Food, Supplies, and Consumer Affairs, as the central figure whose department allegedly facilitated the demand for the rice. He calculated that the operation generated an illegal profit of approximately ₹143 crore per week. Over a projected three-year period, this would culminate in a total loot of ₹22,000 crore, with the Assam corporation alone reportedly earning ₹70 crore in weekly commissions.

Bharadwaj claimed that the Central government's vigilance department has already identified the irregularities. The allegations have sparked a political firestorm in Delhi, with AAP demanding a thorough investigation into the roles of the FCI and the involved private entities. For the average Indian reader, this highlights ongoing concerns regarding the transparency of the Public Distribution System (PDS). The immediate impact will be felt in the Delhi Assembly and the courts, as legal challenges and formal complaints are expected to follow these public disclosures.