New Delhi, Oct. 29 -- AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj has urged the CBI to investigate Food and Civil Supplies Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa's alleged role in the diversion of subsidised rice meant for Delhi's poor,
claiming the minister repeatedly approved procurement requests linked to the scam.
In a supplementary complaint submitted on September 24, Bharadwaj alleged that five crore kilograms of subsidised rice was diverted for private sale.
He also asked the agency to secure ministry records to prevent possible tampering with evidence.
Bharadwaj cited the written reply of suspended Additional Commissioner Arun Kumar Jha, who, according to him, stated that he acted on the minister's instructions.
He also referred to a departmental show cause notice that described recommendations to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) as illegal and unauthorised. According to Bharadwaj, the North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC) sought a weekly allocation of 31,000 metric tonnes of rice at Rs 23.20 per kg on January 7, 2026. He alleged that Sirsa directed the request for "positive consideration" on April 8 and endorsed an identical request on May 4, despite the earlier allocation allegedly lacking distribution records and utilisation certificates.
Bharadwaj claimed the rice was sold to commercial entities in Haryana at Rs 46 per kg through private intermediaries, creating an alleged price subsidy gap of Rs 13.67 crore per week. He urged the CBI to
investigate Sirsa's role, secure official files and electronic communications from January to June 2026, and question individuals named in Jha's reply. Bharadwaj alleged a deliberate conspiracy and said defamation threats would not deter AAP from holding the BJP government accountable.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.