The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday alleged that NCERT textbooks supplied free to Delhi government schools were printed on substandard paper and did not meet tender specifications. It sought an explanation from Education Minister Ashish Sood and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

At a press meet, AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj compared copies of the Class 8 NCERT textbook ‘Malhar’ (the new official Class 8 Hindi core book) sold in bookshops with those supplied to government schools, alleging a “scam” in printing.

“The specifications in these tenders are exactly the same as those of the books available in the market. The paper size is supposed to be A4, and the paper quality must be 80 GSM (grams per square metre).

However, the books printed are not of A4 size and are printed on substandard paper,” Mr. Bharadwaj said, accusing the Education Department of corruption. He said a printer had told him that the prices of the two books differed by at least 40%. “The government must explain who all took this commission. Have officials or politicians taken commissions for books meant for schoolchildren?” Mr. Bharadwaj said.

‘Deflecting attention’

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor rejected the charge, saying textbooks had been supplied regularly for the past two years.

He alleged that during the previous AAP government, entire academic sessions often passed without textbooks being supplied to students. “It appears that Saurabh Bharadwaj considers himself an expert capable of judging the quality of paper as well,” Mr. Kapoor said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday alleged that Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu had not granted its leaders time for a meeting despite multiple requests regarding alleged irregularities in the procurement of medicines, bicycles and rice.

Later in the day, AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), seeking an inquiry into the alleged bicycle procurement scam.

In a statement, AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the L-G of selectively meeting those who “please” him and not even acknowledging the party’s requests for an appointment.

“You cannot avoid meeting opposition leaders as a personal choice. Granting an appointment to opposition leaders is your professional obligation,” Mr. Bharadwaj stated.

There was no official reaction from the L-G’s office. A source said the L-G had met Leader of Opposition and senior AAP leader Atishi at least twice since assuming office in March.

On August 16, Mr. Jha wrote to the L-G seeking a thorough investigation into the alleged scams in the procurement of bicycles, medicines and rice by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

The AAP has also been seeking investigations into the alleged irregularities through public statements.

In a post on X, Mr. Jha stated that the party had filed a complaint with the ACB alleging a ₹37-crore scam in the procurement of bicycles worth ₹90 crore.

“We have submitted all the facts and information related to this scam to the ACB. We hope the ACB will conduct an honest investigation, get to the bottom of the matter and ensure that no one responsible is spared,” he stated.

Mr. Jha alleged that while senior AAP leader Satyendar Jain had been arrested despite having “nothing to do with the case”, no action had been taken despite several complaints regarding the alleged scams. He stated that the party had submitted all the relevant facts to the ACB and expressed confidence that the agency would act on the matter without delay.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday claimed that the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) had conceded before a Delhi court that files related to an alleged ₹700-crore medical procurement scam in the Delhi government had been destroyed.

“Is it a joke to take away dozens of files from the Delhi government and destroy them while a vigilance inquiry is ongoing?” AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj stated in a post on X.

He also alleged that the mastermind behind the scam was given enough time to flee the country. “Now one can imagine that this scam was beyond two government doctors and one accountant. This money went to senior netas, therefore, this cover-up is being managed from the top,” Mr. Bharadwaj said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday met Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar, alleging that genuine voters were being wrongly marked as “shifted” during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. A party delegation sought details of such voters to independently verify their status. 

Led by Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj, the team told the CEO that Booth Level Officers had not distributed enumeration forms in several unauthorised colonies, villages and jhuggi-jhopdi  (JJ) clusters despite official claims of near-complete coverage. 

“A large number of the forms have not been distributed, yet people have been marked as shifted on paper,” Mr. Bharadwaj said. 

According to data from the office of the Delhi CEO, 99.99% of the forms have been distributed so far, while 64.39% have been digitised. 

Mr. Bharadwaj said the party had requested the Election Commission (EC) to share the names, addresses and phone numbers of voters marked as shifted with political parties’ Booth Level Agents, who could verify by phone whether they had relocated. Mr. Bharadwaj said the EC accepted the suggestion. 

He also raised concerns about migrant tenants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana, saying they frequently change rented accommodation within the city and risk being left out of the revision exercise. He questioned what would happen to voters whose names had already been deleted before the SIR and who had not received enumeration forms because they were away when officials visited. 

Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha said the party had urged the EC to issue fresh enumeration forms to people incorrectly marked as shifted. 

“If someone has been wrongly marked as shifted, they should be included in the SIR process,” he said, adding that the Commission had agreed to the demand. 

The EC, he added, had told the delegation that cases involving people shifting within the same locality would be addressed during the claims and objections stage. 

Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar alleged that the reported 99% distribution of enumeration forms did not reflect the situation on the ground and said members of nomadic and Scheduled Caste communities had been left out of the exercise. 

“It is the Election Commission’s responsibility to ensure every eligible person is enrolled as a voter. No one can be deprived of their right to vote,” he said. 

Bharatiya Janata Party Punjab president Kewal Singh Dhillon on Thursday (July 30, 2026) blamed the Aam Aadmi Party government for the State’s, what he termed as “worsening drug crisis”, declaring that the AAP government’s widely-publicised ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ (War Against Drugs) campaign has failed entirely.

Mr. Dhillon said the AAP had during the 2022 poll campaign promised the people of Punjab that it would eradicate the drug menace within three months, after the party assumed power. “But today the situation has worsened instead of improving. Punjab’s youth are losing their lives every single day. When drug-affected families and ordinary citizens raise their voices against drug traffickers, they are openly threatened, which clearly indicates that the traffickers enjoy administrative and political patronage,” he alleged.

The BJP leader further said that public faith in the system has eroded to such an extent that families devastated by the drug menace are being forced to put up posters to sell their homes and stage protests.

“The increasing number of drug-related deaths and the growing public anger are clear evidence of the complete failure of the AAP government’s governance on this issue. The AAP government’s so-called promise of ‘change’ has come at a high cost for the people of Punjab and has pushed the state back by several years. The drug menace can be eradicated only through strong leadership and a robust policy framework, not through publicity campaigns and advertisements,” he said, urging people of Punjab to elect a BJP government in the State in the upcoming assembly election, due in early 2027.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday suspended three Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) councillors, alleging they cross-voted during the ward committee elections held a day earlier. 

Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj announced the immediate suspension of Nirmala Devi (Sharma) and Krishna Devi Raghav from the West Zone, and Sultana Abad from the City SP Zone, sharing a letter on X. 

The party alleged that cross-voting by its councillors enabled the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) victory. 

According to AAP, it secured 11 votes despite having 13 councillors in the West Zone, resulting in the loss of the chairperson’s post. 

“In the City SP Zone, AAP had seven councillors compared to the BJP’s four and one from the Forward Bloc. However, BJP candidate Usha Sharma won the chairperson’s election with seven votes, while the AAP candidate received five,“ said Ankush Narang, the Leader of the Opposition in the MCD House. 

Announcing the disciplinary action, AAP stated that it would not tolerate “betrayal of the mandate” or anti-party activities and warned that strict action would be taken against any councillor found engaging in cross-voting. 

In the elections held on Wednesday for the posts of chairperson and deputy chairperson of 12 MCD ward committees, the BJP won 10 and secured five of the six seats in the Standing Committee members elections. 

Delhi Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday questioned the appointment of Vatsala Agarwal as the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) in 2025, following her arrest in an alleged multi-crore health procurement scam.

The Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch arrested Ms. Agarwal on Saturday over the alleged procurement scam involving medicines, surgical items and medical equipment. In a post on X, Mr. Bharadwaj said she was appointed by the BJP government in August 2025 at Delhi State Cancer Institute despite a vigilance inquiry into alleged corruption.

The AAP leader added that he flagged the issue and termed the appointment “against norms” while noting that senior doctors were overlooked. “Dr. Vatsala Agarwal was appointed to this position when a vigilance inquiry was pending,” he said.

In June, the Delhi government transferred Dr Agarwal to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. The charge of Director was given to the Medical Superintendent of Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital in addition to her existing duties.

Home Minister Ashish Sood on Sunday blamed the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for failing to strengthen the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), saying the Rekha Gupta-led government is now paying the price for a decade of “inaction and apathy”.

Mr. Sood, who is also the Education Minister, said around 25.7% of posts in the DFS’s operational and firefighting wing remain vacant because of the AAP government’s failure to fill them.

“The AAP government did not do anything to improve the DFS and we are suffering because of that now. Our government is in the process of filling these vacancies and modernising the DFS,” he said.

Mr. Sood said 853 of the 3,312 sanctioned posts in the operational and firefighting wing were vacant while 43 of the 132 sanctioned posts in the communication wing were vacant as of February 28.

Overall, 1,030 of the DFS’s 3,633 sanctioned posts across categories were vacant till February 28, he added

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday accused the BJP-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) of “criminal negligence” over deaths caused by people falling into open drains across the national capital.

Leader of the Opposition in the MCD Ankush Narang said while BJP Mayors may have changed, the civic body’s “irresponsible attitude” remained unchanged.

He alleged that several people have died in such incidents over the past two and a half months, but the MCD repeatedly “evaded accountability”. He demanded strict action against the errant officials.

“A 30-year-old man died in Rohini; Ayesha, 2, died in Burari; Rahul Singh died in Dilshad Garden; and Birju Singh died in Rohini Sector 32. In every incident, the BJP tried to suppress the matter and wash its hands of responsibility. How long will the people continue to pay for the BJP’s negligence with their lives?” Mr. Narang said.

“With the monsoon approaching, drain cleaning and desilting works have come to a standstill. Delhi is once again being pushed towards waterlogging and accidents,” he said.

‘Give compensation’

Mr. Narang added that the families of all victims should be given compensation of ₹1 crore each.

A man died after falling into an open drain in Vijay Vihar, the police said on May 15.

On May 3, a two-year-old girl from Mukundpur in Outer North district died after falling into an open drain, the police said.

When contacted, the Delhi BJP refused to respond to the allegations.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the Centre should tell the country the truth about the state of the economy, arguing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to citizens to curb non-essential spending indicated that the situation is “very bad“ and is likely to “worsen“. 

Referring to the Prime Minister’s Sunday appeal asking people to avoid buying gold unnecessarily for a year and to cut down on foreign travel, Mr. Kejriwal said the burden of any economic distress should not fall only on the middle class. 

“Why should only the middle class make sacrifices? Why will Gautam Adani not sacrifice? Why will Ministers not sacrifice? Why will officers not sacrifice? Why will the Prime Minister not sacrifice?” he asked, adding that the country belongs to all 140 crore people. 

He said the Centre’s repeated calls to reduce fuel consumption, avoid foreign goods, limit gold purchases, use public transport and work from home suggested that the economy was headed for a deep crisis. 

“Since 1950, the country has faced wars and recessions, but never before has a Prime Minister asked people to take such harsh measures,” he said. 

Mr. Kejriwal said citizens were willing to make sacrifices, but wanted clarity on the economic situation and the reasons behind the government’s appeals. 

“We are ready to do whatever is needed for the country. But tell us why these steps are being taken and where exactly the economy stands,” he said.