The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday accused the Congress and the BJP of conspiring to derail the Delhi government’s project to install CCTV cameras in the city, a day after the Congress alleged there was corruption involved in the project.
Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken had on Monday alleged there were irregularities in the tendering process for the CCTV project.
Responding to Mr. Maken’s statement, AAP leader and Delhi Development Minister Gopal Rai said on Tuesday that the Congress leader was “working on the BJP’s agenda”. He asked Mr. Maken whether he was going to join the BJP.
Mr. Maken had said that after the first tender for the project had failed in 2017, the government had floated another tender with modified conditions.
In response, Mr. Rai said two companies had participated in the first tender in November 2017 and the same two companies had come forward when the second tender was floated.
He said there was no question of easing conditions for a third company. The Minister added that the contract was eventually given to Bharat Electronics Limited, a public sector undertaking, and not the private company that had quoted a higher price.
Rate contract
Responding to Mr. Maken’s allegation that the cost of the project had been raised substantially, Mr. Rai said the government had entered into a rate contract, not a project contract, meaning that the agency would get paid per unit.
He added that Mr. Maken was trying to prevent the CCTV project like the Mohalla Clinics project, which he had raised issues about in the form of a complaint to the Lieutenant-Governor.
Delhi Congress spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee said the AAP was mounting personal attacks on Mr. Maken instead of answering the questions he had raised.
