New Delhi : BJP MP Raghav Chadha, who switched from AAP to the BJP in April, has denied any involvement in the alleged Delhi Jal Board (DJB) sewage treatment plant tender scam. Sources close to Chadha said his tenure as the board’s vice-chairman ended seven months before the alleged irregularities occurred. Chadha served as DJB vice-chairman from March 2, 2020, to March 3, 2022, and also resigned as an MLA that month.
The response came after the arrest of former Delhi minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain in the case. AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar questioned why Chadha had not been questioned or arrested if the BJP had earlier accused him of involvement.“The BJP had claimed back in the day that these fake irregularities were done by Raghav. Why are you not questioning him?” Kakkar said, accusing the BJP of “vendetta politics”.
“AAP cannot fill this evidentiary vacuum with political innuendo,” sources said, adding that merely invoking Chadha’s name could not establish criminal liability. The Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch has arrested six people in connection with alleged irregularities in the tendering process for augmentation and upgradation of sewage treatment plants under the DJB, including Satyendar Jain and former DJB CEO Udit Prakash Rai.
The case involves alleged manipulation of tender conditions, irregularities in the tendering process and a criminal conspiracy involving officials, consultants and private entities. It was registered on May 11, 2024, following a complaint by the Directorate of Vigilance. The AAP has rejected the allegations against Jain and called his arrest politically motivated, linking it to the upcoming Punjab Assembly polls.
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that Jain, the party’s Punjab co-in-charge, was arrested because the BJP feared a defeat in Punjab. He accused the BJP of trying to obstruct the Bhagwant Mann government’s work and said AAP leaders had been arrested before elections in the past.