Yadav accuses AAP of corruption, alleging BJP’s covert alliance shields Kejriwal’s scams.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi unit of the Congress has accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of being the “B-team” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that the BJP is shielding AAP’s corruption. Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav told The Sunday Guardian that the covert alliance between AAP and BJP has been exposed through the high-profile hospital construction scam in Delhi. He claimed that despite massive corruption worth thousands of crores in the construction of 24 hospitals, the Rekha Gupta-led administration is treating Kejriwal and his associates with leniency.
Yadav further stated that once the Lieutenant Governor authorised a probe by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act against former Delhi health ministers Saurabh Bhardwaj and Satyendra Jain, Kejriwal and his aides began spinning a “conspiracy” narrative to deflect attention from their wrongdoings. He alleged that Kejriwal, who had shifted his base to Punjab, is now reactivating his corrupt network in Delhi with BJP’s tacit support in an attempt to return to relevance after a major electoral defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections. According to Yadav, Kejriwal remains free despite being the prime accused in several scams because BJP is using him as a political pawn to counter Congress.
Yadav emphasised that the ACB’s preliminary report clearly shows that during 2018–19, the cost of the 24 hospital projects was deliberately inflated, public resources were misappropriated, and many projects remained incomplete. He alleged that Kejriwal and his associates siphoned off funds meant for healthcare infrastructure. Despite Congress consistently raising this issue, he noted, it was ignored—until now, with Bihar Assembly elections nearing, the BJP has suddenly shown interest in probing the matter. Yadav called this timing a deliberate and calculated political manoeuvre rather than a coincidence.
He further pointed out that multiple scams—including those related to classroom construction, hospitals, and the liquor policy—reveal the true face of the Kejriwal government. Yet, those involved in these scandals continue to roam free and even mock the law. He accused the government of launching superficial investigations that never conclude with the guilty being punished. According to Yadav, Kejriwal’s so-called ‘corruption model’ has not only been shielded by the BJP but exploited for political gain. He asserted that the AAP-BJP alliance is now blatantly deceiving the people of Delhi, who had placed their trust in BJP hoping for a clean and transparent government.
Yadav told TSG that Congress has consistently exposed the BJP-AAP nexus in states like Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Goa, and now in Delhi and Bihar. He demanded Kejriwal’s resignation, citing moral responsibility amid serious corruption allegations and arrests of his associates. Yadav called for a CBI probe into the hospital scam, not just by the ACB, to ensure accountability. He alleged that as long as Kejriwal leads AAP, corruption will be shielded by the BJP. Congress, he said, will pursue this matter to ensure the corrupt are punished.