AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who was summoned for questioning by the Delhi Government’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) Monday morning in connection with the alleged corruption to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of classrooms in government schools when the party was in power, said he would not be able to do so.
ACB officials said Sisodia conveyed through his counsel that he is preoccupied with other programmes, and will not be able to appear before them at 11 am. The Aam Aadmi Party leader’s counsel also said he will file a reply via email. The officials said that once he sends his reply, they will see whether a summons will be issued again.
The AAP also said in a statement, “Manish Sisodia will not be going to ACB on Monday due to a pre-scheduled programme. His lawyer has sent a reply on his behalf”.
ACB issued summonses to former AAP ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain on May 3 in connection with the case. Jain was questioned last Friday for over five hours.
On April 30, ACB registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the two AAP leaders in connection with alleged corruption in the construction of 12,748 classrooms or semi-permanent structures during the previous AAP government’s tenure. Sisodia held the finance and education portfolios in the AAP government, and Jain was the minister of health, industries, power, home, urban development, and the Public Works Department (PWD).
Madhur Verma, Joint Commissioner of Police, who heads the ACB, earlier confirmed the FIR’s registration.
BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Harish Khurana, and Neelkant Bakshi filed a complaint in 2019 alleging financial irregularities in the construction of classrooms in Delhi Government schools in three zones. They said the construction cost per room stood at approximately Rs 24.86 lakh, exponentially higher than the roughly Rs 5 lakh it takes for similar constructions in Delhi. The BJP leaders also alleged that the project was awarded to 34 contractors, most of whom were associated with the AAP.
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According to ACB officials, 12,748 semi-permanent structures were supposed to be built for Rs 1,200 per square feet, but the cost shot up to around Rs 2,292 per sq ft during construction. ACB is probing the cost escalation.
