Corruption inside BJP-ruled Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) burst into the open during a Standing Committee meeting when BJP councillor Pankaj Luthra accused South Shahdara Zone Deputy Commissioner of extorting money from an under-construction building. The DC hit back, alleging pressure from the councillor, while the MCD Commissioner went further, calling BJP councillors blackmailers. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi Unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj said this exposes the deep nexus of BJP officials and builders running illegal construction rackets. He demanded BJP clarify whether its councillors are blackmailers or DC Badal Kumar is corrupt, while confirming that AAP has already written to CVC and CBI demanding a full probe.
Demands CBI probe into alleged collusion
Addressing a press conference, AAP Delhi Unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj pointed to the explosive developments in the MCD Standing Committee, stating, “On Wednesday, during the Standing Committee meeting of MCD, shocking revelations raised big questions for the BJP. The meeting was attended by MCD Commissioner Ashwini Kumar, Deputy Commissioners of various zones, all Standing Committee members, and the Chairperson.” He continued, “In that meeting, BJP’s Shahdara South Zone Standing Committee member and councillor Pankaj Luthra said that a construction project in his area had an approved map, yet the MCD’s Junior Engineer was demanding money. When he questioned the Junior Engineer, he replied that this demand came from Shahdara South Zone Deputy Commissioner Badal Kumar. This is a grave charge—a BJP councillor, in front of the Commissioner himself, accused his own Deputy Commissioner of extorting money from illegal constructions.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj slams BJP over MCD corruption row
Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “In a normal situation, one would expect Commissioner Ashwini Kumar to order an inquiry and assure action against the guilty. But that did not happen. Instead, Deputy Commissioner Badal Kumar stood up and said that BJP councillor Pankaj Luthra himself had invested money in the building and was pressuring him.” He added, “Not just this, Commissioner Ashwini Kumar, while pointing towards BJP councillors, repeatedly said that all of them are blackmailing. BJP councillors were called ‘blackmailers’, and the Commissioner labelled elected representatives again and again as blackmailers.” Saurabh Bharadwaj asserted, “The BJP’s councillors should drown in shame. In their own Standing Committee, their Commissioner openly called them blackmailers, yet not a single councillor had the courage to stand up and say, ‘What nonsense are you speaking’? AAP Leader of Opposition (LoP) in MCD Ankush Narang also told AAP councillors today that if they are calling BJP councillors blackmailers, then tomorrow they will call AAP councillors blackmailers too. This is about the dignity of public representatives. How can any Commissioner generalise and call elected representatives blackmailers?”
