New Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday alleged that the BJP government and Delhi LG VK Saxena have turned governance into a 'laughing stock' by weaponising routine project delays as alleged corruption.

AAP questioned why no CBI inquiries have been launched into the '10-year delay' of the Bullet Train project or the 'fact that 53 per cent of Central Government infrastructure projects face delays exceeding three years and massive cost overruns'.

The party underscored the 'absurdity' of sanctioning a probe against a former Delhi minister, Satyendar Jain, who had 'no involvement with the projects in question', and pointed out the 'logical fallacy of blaming ministers' when every officer involved in such works reports 'directly' to the LG. 'If this is the new definition of corruption, then dozens of Union Ministers should face CBI action every week,' AAP said, calling the entire exercise a politically motivated farce.

In a statement, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) pointed out that the BJP Government and its Lieutenant Governor (LG) have turned governance into a 'perpetual joke'.

'They are wasting taxpayers' hard-earned money on frivolous investigations. How can anyone imagine that a delay in an infrastructure project would be called corruption--especially at the level of Ministers? If this is the yardstick for registering corruption cases, then dozens of cases should be filed every day against Central Government Ministers,' the party stated.

The AAP noted, 'As of March 2023, 56.3% of Central Government projects monitored by MoSPI were delayed, with an average time overrun of more than three years. By July 2023, 809 projects were reported delayed, with a cumulative cost escalation of over Rs 4.65 lakh crore. The original cost of 835 delayed projects (as of January 2023) was Rs 10.88 lakh crore, which escalated to 14.07 lakh crore--a cost overrun of nearly Rs 3.2 lakh crore. Will the CBI register cases against the respective Central Government Ministers?'

The party also questioned the execution of the flagship Bullet Train project--the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR)

'By July 2022, expenditure had reached Rs 28,442 crore, with revised estimates placing the final cost at Rs 2 lakh crore--an 85% escalation from the original Rs 1.08 lakh crore. That's a Rs 92,000 crore increase. This, too, is a case of delay and cost escalation that has nearly doubled the initial budget. Will the CBI register a corruption case against that Minister?' the AAP questioned.

'As per Central Government data, common causes for delays in projects include delayed regulatory approvals, land acquisition issues, financial constraints, contractor non-performance, environmental clearances, and bureaucratic inefficiencies. Can corruption cases be registered against Ministers for these reasons?' AAP stated. (ANI)