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Last Updated:July 08, 2026, 22:12 IST
The multi-crore controversy has placed severe scrutiny on recent top-tier appointments within the state's healthcare administration
Surabh Bhardwaj accused the administration of orchestrating a bureaucratic cover-up by intentionally delaying law enforcement action to facilitate the exit of the primary accused, Rajiv Rangeela, who has reportedly fled to Germany. File pic/PTI
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) intensified its political offensive against the Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government on Wednesday, staging its third consecutive day of symbolic protests outside Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital. Led by Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bhardwaj alongside MLAs Sanjeev Jha and Kuldeep Kumar, the party alleged that a systemic Rs 650-crore procurement scam has crippled public healthcare infrastructure and left state-run facilities depleted of life-saving medicines.
The opposition party announced that its targeted demonstration will transition to the Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital on Thursday, marking the fourth day of an ongoing city-wide agitation. Addressing reporters at the protest site, Bhardwaj accused the administration of orchestrating a bureaucratic cover-up by intentionally delaying law enforcement action to facilitate the exit of the primary accused, Rajiv Rangeela, who has reportedly fled to Germany.
Inflated Tenders and Multi-Crore Commissions Alleged
According to the AAP leadership, an internal review of state medical procurement contracts revealed a highly inflated pricing structure designed to siphon public funds through illicit commissions. The opposition presented a detailed financial breakdown of the alleged overpricing across key medical categories:
Pharmaceutical Procurement: Medicines with an estimated market value of Rs 100 crore were allegedly purchased for Rs 400 crore, yielding Rs 300 crore in kickbacks.
Diagnostic Equipment: Heavy-duty X-ray machines valued at Rs 10 lakh per unit were reportedly acquired at an inflated cost of Rs 33 lakh each, accumulating Rs 103 crore in commissions.
Hospital Consumables: Basic hospital supplies, including patient bedsheets typically priced at Rs 150, were procured at a stark premium of Rs 450 per unit, funnelling an additional Rs 50 crore into the alleged network.
“The Delhi government sat over this critical matter for an entire month, purposefully enabling the mastermind, Rajiv Rangeela, to safely evade domestic jurisdiction," Bhardwaj stated. He dismissed the current administrative probe as an attempt to mislead the public, questioning the integrity of the process given that the investigative mechanisms remain under state oversight.
Regulatory Overreach and Institutional Vulnerabilities
The multi-crore controversy has placed severe scrutiny on recent top-tier appointments within the state’s healthcare administration. Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha pointed out that the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) itself had logged primary findings indicating that essential hospital items were routinely cleared at prices 10 to 12 times above prevailing market rates. Jha added that field inspections inside GTB Hospital painted a bleak picture of broken infrastructure, torn bedding, and severe patient overcrowding, contrasting sharply with the government’s high procurement outlays.
Compounding the political friction, Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar raised sharp institutional questions regarding the unilateral appointment of Dr Vatsala Agrawal as the Director General of Health Services (DGHS). Kumar alleged that the Chief Minister actively bypassed established administrative guidelines and overlooked 15 senior medical officers to position Agrawal at the helm of the department despite a pending vigilance inquiry against her.
Demands for Direct Executive Resignations
As the political deadlock deepens, AAP has formally demanded the immediate resignation of both the state Health Minister and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to preserve the evidentiary integrity of the ongoing probe. Opposition legislators argued that the deliberate placement of preferred bureaucratic personnel in key administrative nodes directly enabled the execution of the procurement loophole.
The party further questioned the conspicuous absence of central investigative bodies, such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), noting a stark double standard in federal intervention timelines. Affirming that the opposition would not allow the issue to be quietly buried, AAP leaders vowed to sustain their daily hospital demonstrations and aggressively floor the procurement scandal in the upcoming legislative assembly sessions.
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News india AAP Escalates Protests Over Alleged Rs 650-Crore Delhi Health Scam, Asks CM Rekha Gupta To Resign
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