AAP leaders and MLAs rode bicycles to the Delhi Assembly on Monday to protest the purchase of bicycles being distributed to schoolgirls under the Delhi government’s Vidya Vahini Yojana and demand the resignation of Education Minister Ashish Sood.
The allegations were made by AAP leaders in a statement issued by the party. They claimed that the Delhi government purchased 1.30 lakh bicycles at ₹6,957 each, while AAP MLAs purchased what they described as the same bicycle from a retailer for ₹4,200.
AAP Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj led the demonstration, with party MLAs riding bicycles to the Assembly and raising slogans against the Rekha Gupta government.
AAP questions bicycle purchase price
Bharadwaj said AAP had purchased a bicycle from a retailer for ₹4,200 and alleged that the Delhi government paid ₹6,957 for each of 1.30 lakh bicycles purchased for distribution to schoolgirls.
According to the AAP statement, Bharadwaj claimed the difference was nearly ₹3,000 per bicycle. He said the party had brought its bicycle to the Assembly so that it could be compared with the bicycles being distributed by the government.
Bharadwaj also claimed that both bicycles were Hero models and that the bicycles purchased by AAP were labelled “Bonfire”. He alleged that the bicycles being distributed by the government were also Bonfire models but carried “Skyler” labels.
AAP alleged that the purchase involved a wider financial irregularity. Bharadwaj claimed that ₹90 crore was spent on the purchase of the bicycles and alleged that Sood’s department had pocketed ₹40 crore.
AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha also questioned the procurement process. He claimed that a bicycle available in the market for around ₹4,000 was shown in the tender at around ₹7,000 and that 1.30 lakh bicycles were subsequently purchased at that price.
Jha further alleged that Hero Cycles had participated in the tender but did not receive the contract, which he said was awarded to a trader. He alleged that this indicated collusion.
Opposition seeks answers in Assembly
AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar said party legislators were travelling to the Assembly on the bicycles purchased from the market to raise questions over the price difference.
In a post on X cited in the party statement, Kumar questioned why the government paid ₹6,957 per bicycle when AAP had purchased one for ₹4,200. He alleged that the difference amounted to about ₹3,000 per bicycle and questioned where the money went.
Tilak Nagar MLA Jarnail Singh also alleged that the government had purchased 1.30 lakh bicycles at around ₹3,000 above their market price. He said AAP would seek an explanation from the government inside the Assembly.
Singh further alleged that the amount involved could have been used to purchase another one lakh bicycles for schoolgirls.
The claims were made by AAP leaders and were presented in the party’s statement. The material provided does not include the Delhi government’s response to the allegations, nor does it independently establish the alleged financial irregularities.
The demonstration comes after the Delhi government began distributing bicycles to Class 9 girl students under the Vidya Vahini Yojana. According to the party statement, AAP leaders used the bicycles they had purchased to draw a comparison with those being distributed by the government.
