AAP alleges ₹22,000 crore rice scam under Delhi BJP government
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused Delhi’s BJP-led government of orchestrating a massive scam in the distribution of subsidised rice meant for the city’s poor, alleging that the scheme was being used to divert grain to a private company in Haryana.
AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the Rekha Gupta government, along with an Assam-based corporation, obtained subsidised rice from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) ostensibly for distribution among needy residents. However, he claimed that none of the rice reached eligible beneficiaries and that the entire stock was instead diverted to a private firm in Haryana.
According to Bharadwaj, the government procured around 31,000 metric tonnes of rice every week from the FCI at ₹23.20 per kg and allegedly sold it in the open market to the Haryana-based company for ₹46 per kg. This, he claimed, generated an illegal margin of about ₹23 per kg and resulted in an alleged scam worth ₹143 crore every week.
AAP alleged that the arrangement was planned to continue for three years, potentially generating ₹22,000 crore in illicit gains. Bharadwaj and AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha demanded that the government explain the alleged irregularities and said the party would make documents related to the scheme public.
The BJP-led government and the FCI had not responded to the allegations at the time of the report.