New Delhi [India], August 2 : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday alleged that the chief minister Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government has committed corruption of Rs 90 crore in bicycle procurement tender.
Addressing a press conference, AAP Delhi President Saurabh Bhardwaj said that the government manipulated the tender process to favour a pre-selected company.
"Another major allegation has now surfaced against the Delhi Government. It concerns the procurement of bicycles distributed to schoolgirls, where a major scam is being alleged. Two days ago, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited a sports complex in Vinod Nagar and distributed bicycles to Class 9 girls. Serious allegations of corruption have now been levelled against the government over the purchase of those bicycles," Bharadwaj added.
He further alleged that the tender conditions were deliberately framed so that a pre-decided company would get the contract
"Just as the ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau) FIR in the health matter says that the tender conditions were tailor-made to ensure that only a chosen contractor or vendor would receive the contract, exactly the same allegations are now being made regarding this bicycle procurement tender. It is alleged that the tender conditions were deliberately framed so that a pre-decided company would get the contract, and that is precisely what happened. It is further alleged that the bicycles were purchased at prices far higher than their market value," he added.
Introducing the complaints received, he shared, "Several companies including SK Bikes, World MSME Forum and others have submitted written complaints to the Vigilance Commission, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) and the Chief Minister. But so far, no action has been taken. Every tender follows CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) guidelines regarding how it should be drafted and how its conditions should be framed."
Quoting SK Bikes' complaint, he pointed out, "The first point raised in the complaint is that the bicycle matching the specifications mentioned in the tender is available in the market for ₹4,100, yet the tender itself fixed its price at ₹6,923. This is not being claimed by some unknown company. It is being stated by a company that has supplied bicycles in several BJP-ruled states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. In Madhya Pradesh alone, it supplied 5.50 lakh bicycles. These facts have been mentioned in the complaint."
"The company has also stated that it already supplies the same MTB, or Mountain Terrain Bicycle, with wide tyres suitable for rough roads, to other states at ₹4,100 per bicycle. According to the complaints, these conditions were framed only to ensure that participation in the tender remained limited to three selected companies." Saurabh Bhardwaj added, reading the complaint.
He further said, "Delhi govt floated a tender to procure 1.30 lakh bicycles. Even if it is assumed that the government intended to buy each bicycle for ₹6,923, the turnover eligibility for participating companies should have been decided accordingly. If you multiply ₹6,923 by 1.30 lakh bicycles, the tender value comes to around ₹90 crore."
Explaining the eligibility criteria, he stated, "Even at these inflated prices, the turnover eligibility under normal tender conditions should be one and a half to two times the tender amount. Therefore, the maximum turnover requirement should have been around ₹180 crore. Instead, it was deliberately increased to ₹360 crore so that only the government's preferred vendor could qualify."
Citing examples from BJP-ruled states, he added, "Rajasthan floated a tender for 3.70 lakh bicycles but required a turnover of only ₹150 crore. Chhattisgarh floated a tender for 1,60,000 bicycles and required a turnover of ₹90 crore. Delhi intended to procure fewer bicycles, yet instead of asking for a turnover of around ₹150 crore, it demanded ₹360 crore, which is completely against CVC guidelines."
The AAP Delhi Chief asserted, "The allegation is that this was done deliberately to exclude 3 companies from the bidding process and ensure that the contract went to a pre-selected company."
Highlighting another objection, he said, "Whenever turnover is prescribed as an eligibility condition, the previous three financial years are normally considered. Since this is a 2026-27 tender, the relevant years should have been 2025-26, 2024-25 and 2023-24. However, the tender deliberately excluded the most recent financial year, 2025-26, and instead considered an older period."
He revealed, "This was done only to prevent the company that is supplying the same bicycle to different states for ₹4,100 from participating in the tender. The same company is already supplying these bicycles in BJP-ruled states at that price."
He continued, "These issues are discussed during the pre-bid meeting, where all prospective bidders sit with government officials before bids are submitted. Based on those discussions, tender conditions are modified wherever necessary. This is the normal process prescribed under CVC guidelines."
The AAP Delhi Chief revealed, "In this entire tender process, the government deliberately chose not to hold any pre-bid meeting. As a result, the letters sent by companies willing to supply bicycles at ₹4,100 were neither considered nor were they given an opportunity to raise these issues in a pre-bid meeting. According to reports, after the tender process was completed, the work order was issued and the government purchased these bicycles at ₹6,957 per bicycle."
Saurabh Bharadwaj affirmed, "Their ministers speak a lot. They must be asked whether they have anything to say about this as well, or whether, in this case too, the government will tear into some officer and then circulate that officer's photograph on Twitter, claiming that this is the person who pocketed from ₹90 crore scam. You must have seen how, in the ₹650 crore 'Health Scam', DGHS official Vatsala Aggarwal's photograph was circulated through influencers on Instagram and Twitter."