Prez nod for FIR against Sisodia, Jain in Rs 2K-cr classroom scam
New Delhi: In a dramatic turn of events, President Droupadi Murmu has approved the registration of an FIR against AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in an alleged ₹2,000 crore scam related to the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools, sources said.
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) highlighted “glaring irregularities” in the construction work in its report dated February 17, 2020. Acting on this, the Delhi Vigilance Directorate recommended an investigation in 2022 and submitted its findings to the Chief Secretary. The President’s approval, granted under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, allows inquiries into decisions taken by public servants in their official duties.
The case originates from a complaint filed in July 2019 by BJP leader Harish Khurana and former AAP MLA Kapil Mishra, now a minister in the Delhi government. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) report alleged that the Delhi government spent ₹2,892.65 crore on classroom construction, with costs inflated to ₹8,800 per square foot, far exceeding the ₹1,500 per square foot market rate.
According to the ACB report, classrooms were built at an alleged cost of ₹24.86 lakh per room, whereas similar rooms in Delhi could be constructed for about ₹5 lakh. The report claimed that even “ultra-luxury” construction costs for five-star hotels range between ₹5,000 and ₹5,500 per square foot, much lower than the alleged inflated rates.
The complainants provided documents obtained through RTI, showing that 18 classrooms in the Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Nathupura, Burari, were built for ₹12 crore, raising further questions about cost inflation.
Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia dismissed the FIR as politically motivated. “File as many cases as you want. Whether it is against me, Satyendar Jain, Atishi, Arvind Kejriwal, or any other AAP leader, we will not bow down before BJP,” he said. Taking a dig at the central government, Sisodia added, “Tomorrow is Holi. Where are the free cylinders you promised to Delhi’s families? And when will you fulfill your promise of ₹2,500 per month to the women of Delhi?”
Furthermore, while reacting to the development, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP of using investigative agencies to target political rivals. “The BJP has no interest in fulfilling its promises to the people of Delhi. Its only agenda is to carry out a witch-hunt against its political rivals to stifle the voice of the people,” he said.
Bharadwaj further claimed that bureaucratic approvals were being misused. “Every time, the same cycle is repeated, the file moves to the Lieutenant Governor, then to the MHA, then to the President. This is nothing but a political circus,” he alleged.
With the Union Home Ministry granting prosecution sanction, legal proceedings against Sisodia and Jain are set to move forward. The case is expected to be a major political flashpoint in Delhi in the coming months.
