Union minister criticises AAP’s governance, accuses party of failing on promises

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri referred to several ‘guarantees’ made by AAP during the 2020 Delhi elections and alleged that ‘they are a factory of liars’

New Delhi: Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday sharply criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s governance in Delhi and accused the Arvind Kejriwal-led party of failing to deliver on key promises that it made during the 2020 assembly polls.

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri. (PTI)

Addressing a press conference in the national capital, the minister referred to several “guarantees” made by AAP during the 2020 Delhi elections and alleged that “they are a factory of liars.”

Mentioning the AAP’s 2020 poll promise of 24-hour electricity and 200 units of free power for every household, Puri said that the expenditure of free power has surged from ₹290 crore to ₹3250 crore under AAP’s rule.

He alleged disparity in water access in the city despite the AAP’s promise of 24-hour access to pure piped drinking water with 20,000 litres free per household. He slammed the quality of the municipal corporation of Delhi (MCD) water, calling it “almost undrinkable” and said that many households had to install water purification systems at their own expense.

Puri also sharply criticised AAP’s promises of “world-class education,” accusing the Delhi government of inflating its achievements. “They promised 500 schools; by 2022, only 65 were built,” he said, questioning the government’s claims about expanding education facilities.

Citing a report by the central vigilance commission, Puri alleged that AAP had counted bathrooms as classrooms. He also claimed the Delhi government had failed to hire any new teachers for over a decade, with a shortfall of 6,000 teachers. “There are 43,000 permanent teachers and 30,000 guest teachers in Delhi schools, but the need is 62,000,” he said.

He accused the AAP of failing to build new hospitals in the past decade and said that “not a single bed was added” to Delhi’s healthcare system during that time.

He also condemned the state of ‘Mohalla Clinics,’ saying, “Mohalla Clinics are a testament to the failure of their health policy.” He said that 362 out of 520 clinics operated out of portable cabins instead of proper medical facilities. Puri further alleged that the clinics were plagued by untimely closures, staff shortages, and said that an Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation had uncovered 65,000 fictitious patient records. He also criticised the Delhi government for not adopting the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

Turning to infrastructure, Puri accused the Delhi government of delaying metro expansion projects and failing to provide timely funding. He claimed that the AAP did not release ₹7,201 crore in funding, which hindered progress on the Delhi Metro project. Despite these alleged obstacles, Puri credited the central government for facilitating the growth of what he called one of the world’s best metro networks, now extending over 1,000 km and serving more than 70 lakh passengers daily.

“In spite of all these obstructions, we have 1,000 km of metro—the third best in the world—and soon we’ll be second,” he added, attributing these developments to Prime Minister Modi’s government at the Centre.

He also slammed the Delhi government over environmental issues. He criticised the AAP government’s inability to manage pollution, particularly in the Yamuna River, which continues to suffer severe contamination. said, “Yamuna pollution levels are 500 times higher than the prescribed levels,” he said.

On urban development, Puri criticised AAP for failing to implement housing schemes for slum dwellers and addressing unauthorised colonies. He mentioned the AAP government’s promise to provide permanent housing to people in slums under the “Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makaan” scheme and alleged that the AAP had failed to implement the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Delhi. “We wrote to them multiple times to complete the task (but they did not cooperate),” he said.

He further accused senior AAP politicians of engaging in property acquisition instead of resolving the issues and said, “The fundamental difference between the BJP and them is that whatever we say, we do.”

There was no immediate reaction from AAP to Puri’s charges.

The remarks come as the political battle intensifies ahead of Delhi’s upcoming assembly elections, scheduled for February 5.