Saurabh Bharadwaj Alleges ₹22,000 Crore Rice Scam Plan By Delhi Government

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has alleged that the Delhi government planned a ₹22,000 crore scam involving subsidised rice over a period of three years.

In a post on X, Bharadwaj alleged that an Assam-based corporation and the Delhi government had sent a formal request to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) seeking heavily subsidised rice for distribution among poor people in Delhi.

According to Bharadwaj’s claim, around 31,000 metric tonnes of rice per week was sought for the proposed distribution. However, he alleged that the subsidised rice did not reach the poor and was instead sold to a private company in Haryana for profit.

The AAP leader claimed that the alleged arrangement amounted to a planned scam worth around ₹143 crore per week, which he said could have totalled approximately ₹22,000 crore over three years.

Bharadwaj also alleged that the Delhi government’s Food, Supplies and Consumer Affairs department, headed by Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, had written to the FCI seeking the rice to be sent to the Assam-based corporation.

He further claimed that the corporation was earning a commission of around ₹70 crore per week by selling the rice to a private company in Haryana. According to his calculation, he alleged that the amount could have reached around ₹11,000 crore over three years.

Bharadwaj also claimed that the alleged irregularity was identified by the Central government’s vigilance department.

The allegations were made by Bharadwaj through social media and a video in which he described what he called a planned scam. The claims, as reported by Hindustan Times, are allegations by the AAP leader and should not be presented as an established scam unless independently verified or confirmed by authorities.