The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation after alleging there were irregularities in the procurement of 2.1 lakh LED street lights by the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, PTI reported. Delhi BJP legislators met CBI Director Rishi Kumar Shukla, and demanded an investigation into the alleged scam that they claimed was worth Rs 100 crore.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party lashed out at the BJP, accusing it of running a “factory of lies”. “In the last four-and-a-half years, they have filed two dozen cases against Delhi government, with the CBI Anti-Corruption Branch,” said the party’s chief spokesperson and MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj. “Despite the fact that the BJP-ruled central government controls these agencies, nothing has been found.”

Arvind Kejriwal had announced the “Mukhyamantri Street Light Yojana”, a scheme under which more than two lakh street lights were proposed to be installed, in September. Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Vijendra Gupta, claimed that the LED lights procured through the discoms were costlier and had shorter warranty periods compared to the ones available in the open market.

“Delhi government did not entrust the work to the municipal corporations whose mandate is to install street lights,” Gupta added. “It [government] arbitrarily chose to outsource the tendering process to the power discoms that are private players.”

Gupta claimed that the government had given “Rs 100 crore from the exchequer to a private company, BSES, which does not come under Comptroller and Auditor General of India”, ANI reported. “The money has been already paid to the company and authorised to use on its own,” he added. “There is a clear scam. No tender process was followed.”

Gupta said Shukla assured him that the agency would initiate an inquiry.

Now, follow and debate the day’s most significant stories on Scroll Exchange.