The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) traded charges on Sunday after the Opposition party alleged “irregularities” in the purchase of bicycles under the Vidya Vahini Yojana recently unveiled by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
The ruling BJP rubbished the allegations and accused AAP of trying to divert attention from the “school bag scam” and “exam paper leak cases” in AAP-ruled Punjab.
The Delhi government had launched the scheme, aimed at improving access to education, on July 31 and distributed bicycles to over 3,000 Class 9 girl students. The CM had allocated ₹90 crore in the budget to provide bicycles to 1.3 lakh Class 9 girl students in government schools.
‘Exorbitant’ rate
The war of words started with a press conference by AAP Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, where he alleged a “₹90-crore scam” in the purchase of 1.3 lakh bicycles, claiming that the BJP government bought the bicycles at an “exorbitant” rate through a “tailored” tender meant to benefit a particular company.
The former Health Minister claimed that the tailored tender mandated a turnover of ₹360 crore for firms interested in supplying 1.3 lakh bicycles, ensuring that only a few companies could participate.
He added that a bicycle-manufacturing company had raised these issues in its complaint to Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Ms. Gupta, and officials in the Vigilance Department.
Mr. Bharadwaj said during the entire tender process, the government deliberately chose not to hold any pre-bid meeting.
‘AAP shielding Mann’
Responding to the allegations, BJP MLA and Delhi government spokesperson Harish Khurana said Mr. Bharadwaj’s allegations were based solely on a private firm’s complaint.
He added that the “real objective” behind the allegations was to shield Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.
“Bicycles are available in different models with different features and prices in the Delhi market generally range from ₹4,000-50,000,” he said, reiterating that there is no bicycle scam in Delhi.
Published - August 03, 2026 12:55 am IST