Union minister and senior BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi on Saturday alleged a "scam" of Rs 3,735 crore in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) under various heads of the Aam Aadmi Party government. Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, Lekhi said "Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has given liberty to all the corrupt to loot wherever they want. As a result, the people of Delhi are continuously being deceived...In the scam this time, details of Jal Board have come to light...The number of consumers (under the Board) went up, metres went up and consumption went up. But the earnings went down. The FDRs also disappeared. So, where did the money go?."
"When there was Sheila Dikshit's government, they came to power by crying "tanker mafia". That "tanker mafia" is working to this day because wherever they have not laid down water pipelines, water tankers collect Rs 10,000 from the people to supply water from the tanker. There are several of such areas...the strength of tanker mafia has not come down but gone up," Lekhi added.
Speaking further she said "the "scam" in Delhi Jal Board is worth Rs. 3,753 under various heads, and the details of the work undertaken by them from 2017-18 to 2022-23 are missing."
"There is a difference of Rs. 166 crores in the financial statements of the bank and Delhi Jal Board. They have claimed to have deposited money in bank accounts but they don't tally in the bank statements... The scam in Delhi Jal Board is Rs. 3,753 under various heads... All the details of the work undertaken by them from 2017-18 to 2022-23 are missing... Ultimately it is 'Haay Tauba, Haay Allah. Kejriwal ne kiya ek naya ghotala'," said the Union Minister.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva was also present at the press conference and said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should refer the "scam" to the CBI and ED for probe. If he fails to do so, the BJP will urge the Lt Governor to do it.