The Anti-Corruption Branch (ABC) of the Delhi government has been asked to probe alleged corruption into the free coaching scheme started by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, Education Minister Ashish Sood said on Wednesday. Lt Governor V K Saxena has ordered the probe, he added. Under the Jai Bhim Pratibha Vikas Yojna SC, ST and OBC students were provided free coaching at private institutes for competitive exams. Addressing mediapersons with SC/ST Welfare Minister Ravinder Indraj, Sood alleged that a bill of Rs 145 crore was prepared during Covid-19 pandemic in 2021-22 for payment to private coaching institutes. He added that the previous AAP government neither sought any list of students from the coaching institutes nor verified if they were being provided coaching. "Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had recommended that ther allegations be probed," he said. “The scheme, initiated in 2018, aimed to provide free coaching by transferring government funds directly to coaching institutions. AAP leaders insulted Dr BR Ambedkar’s legacy and turned a welfare scheme into a nexus of corruption. In 2018, 4,900 students were supposed to receive coaching, and in 2019, the number was 2,071. However, during the pandemic, AAP leaders colluded with the coaching mafia. Originally allocated a budget of Rs 15 crore, the scheme saw a massive spike in billing, with coaching institutions submitting claims of Rs 145 crore between July 2021 and August 2022. Upon investigation, it was revealed that coaching institutions provided data for 13,000 students, but only 3,000 could be verified. The rest had no supporting documentation or register entries,” said Sood. The AAP, meanwhile, accused the BJP government of “systematically dismantling” welfare schemes. “The BJP is using corruption allegations as a smokescreen to justify the closure of these schemes despite not a single allegation being proven to date. From shutting down mohalla clinics, ending free bus travel for women, to withdrawing free medicines from government hospitals and moving towards the privatisation of Delhi’s water supply, every step is calculated to erase AAP’s model of governance,” AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj said. The party, in a statement, also alleged that BJP had not taken a single step to address the issues faced by ordinary people. “The women of Delhi, to whom the BJP had promised Rs 2,500 per month, are still waiting for the money. Instead of fulfilling this guarantee, the BJP has delivered betrayal,” it said.
