BJP alleges ₹650-cr. scam in Delhi hospital project, AAP hits back

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were at odds on Tuesday after Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh alleged a ₹650-crore “cost escalation” in the construction of an additional block at Lok Nayak Hospital during the previous Arvind Kejriwal-led government.

The accusation comes a day after a CBI court cleared former AAP Minister Satyendar Jain in a corruption case.

Mr. Singh stated that the file has been forwarded to Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V.K. Saxena for an investigation in the matter.

“The budget sanctioned for the construction of a new block at Lok Nayak Hospital increased by ₹650 crore. [Former] PWD Minister Satyendar Jain got the changes done. He would conduct inspections and suggest changes, which led to cost escalation. There was a scam of ₹650 crore. We have sent the file to the L-G on the matter. He will forward it to either the ACB or the CBI,” Mr. Singh said.

The fresh allegations stemmed from the earlier findings of a committee constituted by the L-G in July 2024. The committee pointed out that the original contract was made for ₹465 crore, which later escalated by 243% to ₹1,139 crore.

AAP rejected the charges, saying the BJP leaders don’t understand the fundamental definition of the word “corruption”.

‘Frivolous cases’

“The BJP  is obsessed with the ACB, CBI, and ED. They hatch conspiracies against AAP leaders, waste time drafting frivolous cases, and squander taxpayers’ money on these directionless investigations,” AAP said in a statement.

“Just a day ago, the court taught them a lesson by closing one of the CBI cases against Satyendar Jain. The court stated that the CBI had registered a baseless case with no corruption, no criminality, and no evidence,” the statement read.