Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri on Monday sought an FIR against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the alleged scam in the collection of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) water bills, which were deposited into “fake bank accounts”. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said it was an “old” issue and the BJP was repeating it.
Mr. Bidhuri said that Mr. Kejriwal was the chairman of the DJB in 2018, when the alleged scam of ₹20 crore came to light. “Arvind Kejriwal is clearly involved in this scam and it is necessary to register an FIR against him and get the accounts audited because only then these scams will be exposed,” he said at a press conference here, adding that now the scam may have reached “₹200 crore” now.
In 2018, it was alleged that Corporation Bank, which was contracted by the DJB to collect water bills on its behalf, deposited the amount into private bank accounts instead of that of the DJB for “many years”. Mr. Bidhuri asked why Mr. Kejriwal had not taken any action against the bank and officials of the DJB. “Not only did the contract of the bank continue, but its per bill commission was also increased from ₹5 to ₹6,” he claimed.
Earlier in September, Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena had directed the Chief Secretary to identify officials of the DJB and the bank involved in the embezzlement of funds and file an FIR against them.
AAP had then welcomed the action and said the inquiry was “recommended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia himself”.
