'Phulera’s Panchayat running in Delhi?': AAP takes aim at CM Rekha Gupta over husband's presence at meeting

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday accused Chief Minister Rekha Gupta of allowing her husband Manish Gupta to participate in official government meetings, terming it “completely unconstitutional.”

In a post on X, Bharadwaj likened the situation to the popular web series Panchayat, where the woman sarpanch’s husband informally assumes the sarpanch’s role in the fictional village of Phulera.

“Delhi Government Becomes Phulera Panchayat. Just as in Phulera's panchayat, where the woman sarpanch's husband acted as the sarpanch, today in Delhi, the CM's husband is sitting in official meetings. We had previously mentioned that the CM's husband attends official meetings, conducts meetings with officials, and carries out inspections,” Bharadwaj wrote.


“This is completely unconstitutional. In the nation's capital, democracy and the constitutional system are being mocked in this manner,” he added.

Questions raised on BJP and dynastic politics

Bharadwaj also targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), questioning its silence over the issue despite its frequent criticism of Congress on dynastic politics.

“The BJP, which relentlessly criticises Congress for dynastic politics, should explain— is this not dynastic politics?” he asked.

Bharadwaj further pressed: “Does the CM of the world's largest party have no worker left whom she can trust? What is that work which only a family member can do? What are the reasons that the CM wants to establish her husband's authority? Why is her husband being made a part of the government administrative system in this way?”

AAP shares photo of CM’s husband at meeting

The controversy erupted after AAP shared a purported photo from an official meeting where Manish Gupta was seen seated beside CM Rekha Gupta.

The party claimed the image, posted on both the official Instagram handle of the Chief Minister’s Office and Rekha Gupta’s own account, was proof of “family rule” in Delhi’s administration.

In its jibe, AAP wrote on X: “Is Phulera's Panchayat Government Running in Delhi? Chief Minister Rekha Gupta holds a meeting in which several officials and employees participate. But sitting right next to the CM, on a chair placed beside her, is her husband Manish Gupta.”