Lambasting the BJP-led Delhi government, AAP Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday said instead of addressing the city’s real problems, the government is busy buying luxury phones worth lakhs for its ministers.
Addressing a media briefing here, he said even as Delhi reels under waterlogging, traffic chaos, rising school fees, and the demolition of ‘jhuggis’ (slums), the BJP government has approved the purchase of high-end mobile phones worth Rs1.50–1.25 lakh each for the chief minister and cabinet ministers.
Questioning the government’s priorities, the AAP leader said that while BJP spared no time in approving unlimited phone bills for its ministers, it formed a committee to delay the RS 2,500 monthly scheme for women. “If ministers’ phones deserve instant orders, why not a committee for that too?” he said.
“BJP had promised ₹2,500 per month to lakhs of women starting 8 March, yet not a single rupee has been disbursed. The committee set up for it is just playing ‘meeting-meeting’. When it comes to buying ₹1.5 lakh phones and sanctioning unlimited bills for themselves, BJP acts without delay. But when it comes to women, they hide behind committees,” he went on to add.
“If they can approve expensive phones overnight, why not form a committee to debate which minister deserves which phone, how much the bill should be, and what is ‘appropriate’ for the CM? Why are committees only reserved for delaying public welfare?”
Later, in a post on X, Bharadwaj while congratulating BJP’s Delhi leadership, wrote, “Congratulations to the BJP CM and ministers. Their ₹1.25–1.5 lakh phone scheme with unlimited bills has been passed. Development is happening—if not for Delhi’s people, at least for BJP’s ministers. So what if ₹2,500 wasn’t given to women, or if school fees shot up, or if traffic and flooding paralysed the city, or if thousands of widows lost their pensions, or if jhuggis were bulldozed? For women, it’s committee after committee. For themselves, instant action.”