Ration card row erupts between BJP and AAP

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Harish Khurana on Tuesday attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), claiming that during its decade-long rule in Delhi, ration cards were issued even in the names of deceased individuals.

Khurana’s remarks followed allegations by AAP leaders regarding “irregularities” associated with the cancellation of numerous ration cards in the city. In a press conference here, the BJP MLA from Moti Nagar dismissed these allegations as a “deliberate attempt to mislead the public.” “Some jobless opposition leaders are trying to manufacture fake narratives, but the people of Delhi know how ration cards were indiscriminately issued during AAP’s rule,” he said.

Official data shows that 9,22,766 applications for ration cards were submitted in Delhi between 2014 and 2024. “For nearly ten years, ration cards were issued without any meaningful verification. The moment the process was subjected to scrutiny, large-scale irregularities surfaced,” Khurana said.

A review conducted by the BJP government headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has found over 2 lakh suspect ration cards, including 6,038 issued in the names of deceased individuals, Khurana claimed.

He further mentioned that 16,000 duplicate ration cards and more than 1.44 lakh cards held by individuals earning more than Rs 6 lakh annually were detected during the review exercise. Earlier, Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the BJP government was creating a situation to extract money from poor people for issuing them ration cards.

“Around 11 lakh people are waiting to be issued ration cards, but now government committees have been formed to decide who will get them. A total of 8.27 lakh new ration cards are to be issued,” Bharadwaj said, further alleging potential corruption in the issuance of new ration cards.

Bharadwaj asserted that instead of the earlier “pehle aao, pehle paao” (first-in, first-out) system, the government has now constituted a committee to decide who gets a card and who does not. “It is the poorest individuals living in slums, rented accommodations, small houses, and unauthorised colonies who need ration cards.

However, this new rule will create opportunities for bribery and corruption,” he warned.