₹4,200 vs ₹6,957: AAP puts Delhi govt's bicycle purchase under scrutiny

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) put the Delhi government's bicycle purchase under scrutiny by placing a bicycle distributed to schoolgirls alongside an identical bicycle bought at retail, highlighting a stark price difference.

In a press release, Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday said the party bought the bicycle for ₹4,200, while the BJP government purchased 1.30 lakh bicycles at ₹6,957 each, despite the government-supplied bicycles carrying cheaper, local components.

He further showcased that the government-distributed bicycle bears a fake 'Skyler' sticker even though the company discontinued the model a year ago. He said AAP would take both bicycles to the Chief Minister and Education Minister and ask them to explain which one is genuine and why the government paid nearly ₹2,800 more per bicycle.


Displaying the two bicycles while addressing a press conference, Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "You can see two bicycles here. One is the bhagwa-coloured bicycle that the BJP government has distributed to poor girls in Delhi. It has 'Skyler' written on it. This is a fake Skyler. This saffron-coloured bicycle was purchased by them through a tender for ₹6,957, roughly ₹7,000 per bicycle, and they bought 1.30 lakh bicycles in bulk. The red bicycle here is one that we purchased at retail. I have a receipt in my name. The bicycle cost ₹4,000, with ₹200 in tax, making it ₹4,200. We got one bicycle for ₹4,200, while the BJP government bought one for ₹6,957, and bought 1.30 lakh of them."

Comparing the two bicycles, Bhardwaj said, "They are exactly the same, but there is one difference. The difference is the intent behind them. Since it's an MTB, a Mountain Terrain Bike, as specified by the government in the tender."

"The tyres on the red bicycle we purchased are wide, sturdy tyres. They are branded Metro tyres," he added.

"The saffron bicycle that the BJP government extended and looted has local, cheaper tyres and a cheaper rim. The tyre on the bicycle we purchased costs ₹350 to ₹500, while the tyre on the bicycle sold by the BJP costs ₹150. The brake levers on the bicycle we purchased are made of aluminium. On the government ones, they are made of plastic." Bhardwaj stated.

"When the Opposition has already brought and shown you a bicycle costing ₹4,000, you are still sitting there with your eyes closed and saying, 'No, no, we did everything correctly'," he added.

Calling for a direct comparison, he stated, "We now want to tell Ashish Sood (Delhi Minister) that he should meet us. We will take both these bicycles to him and CM Rekha Gupta, let them see them with their own eyes, and then tell the public and the media which bicycle is genuine and which is fake."

"I will also share the receipt on WhatsApp and on my Twitter. We will share the receipt showing the ₹200 tax as well," Bharadwaj said.

The former Delhi minister revealed, "If you search for the genuine Skyler online or call Hero Cycles, they will tell you that the genuine Skyler model was discontinued a year ago. You will not find a Skyler anywhere in Delhi. You will not even find it in Jhandewalan's wholesale market because Hero Cycles has discontinued the Skyler model."

"The trademark for this model has also expired. Go to the trademark website and check it. The Skyler trademark itself has expired. So where did they get this Skyler from?" he added.

AAP MLA and Chief Whip in Delhi Assembly Sanjeev Jha stated, "There was a bidder from Ludhiana, SK Bikes. SK Bikes wrote that it could not bid, but it could supply this bicycle for ₹4,100. Then, when we raised this issue yesterday or the day before, I unofficially received a call from someone from Hero who said, 'I can supply the bicycle that the government purchased for ₹3,200.' This looks like clear-cut corruption to me. I do not understand why Delhi CM Rekha Gupta is protecting her minister and why she is not taking action against him."

Sanjeev Jha further said, "We demanded a discussion on this issue both outside the House and inside the House. If there was nothing wrong, they would have allowed the discussion. They would have allowed all these facts to come on record, and then the minister could have answered. Despite all our demonstrations, if they are not allowing a discussion, or if the minister is not participating in the discussion, it means he knows that if there is a discussion, all the secrets will come out."