AAP smells a scam in Rani Jhansi flyover delay; baseless, charge, says BJP
The BJP dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and hit back, saying that the AAP should answer why the construction of the Signature bridge in north-east Delhi faced delays.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of corruption in the three municipal corporations in Delhi (MCD) and demanded answers with regard to expenses incurred and delay in construction of the Rani Jhansi flyover in north Delhi.
The BJP dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and hit back, saying that the AAP should answer why the construction of the Signature bridge in north-east Delhi faced delays.
The AAP is in charge of Delhi government, the BJP rules all three municipal corporations. Delhi goes to municipal polls in 2022.
The north Delhi municipal body inaugurated the Rani Jhansi flyover in October 2018 and the AAP government inaugurated the Signature bridge in November 2018. Both projects witnessed delays – Raji Jhansi flyover took 24 years and Signature bridge was supposed to be inaugurated in 2013.
“The BJP claimed that the Rani Jhansi flyover will be completed in two years, then why did it take 24 years? They claimed that the flyover will be completed within a budget of ₹175 crore, then why did it take ₹724 crore. If not for corruption by the BJP leaders then why?” said Durgesh Pathak, AAP’s in charge of municipal affairs.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor cited several hurdles in the work and rejected Pathak’s allegations. “These are baseless allegations. There were numerous hurdles ranging from legal to administrative that delayed work on the Rani Jhansi flyover project. The AAP should rather answer what took them five extra years to start the Signature Bridge, even though the project was not caught up in legal hurdles.”