AAP MLAs Protest With Rice Bags, Sirsa Denies Scam Allegations

The Delhi Assembly witnessed a dramatic confrontation on Tuesday as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators staged a protest over an alleged rice scam, carrying sacks of rice and placards into the House. The protest targeted Delhi Food and Supplies Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, with AAP MLAs demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities involving subsidised rice meant for poor and needy people. The protest escalated when rice was allegedly thrown inside the Assembly, prompting the Speaker and ministers to condemn the conduct and seek action against those involved.

Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma alleged that AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar took rice out of his pocket and threw it at members and officials during the proceedings. Verma urged Speaker Vijender Gupta to take action, saying the incident had crossed the limits of acceptable conduct inside the House. Speaker Gupta strongly condemned the disruption, describing it as "the height of indiscipline" and warning that such behaviour would not be tolerated. AAP MLAs Ajay Dutt and Virender Singh Kadyan were subsequently marshalled out of the House.

The controversy also led to calls for the matter to be referred to the Privileges Committee. Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht demanded strict action, saying the Assembly functions according to established rules and that the incident warranted examination by the committee. Speaker Gupta accused the opposition of repeatedly disrupting proceedings for three consecutive days instead of participating in discussions. He said the conduct was against the traditions of the House and described the opposition's approach as irresponsible.

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Sirsa has rejected the allegations levelled against him and denied that the Delhi government purchased or sold any rice in the disputed arrangement. He said the government had received a representation from a company that had purchased rice and that he had merely written a note asking officials to consider the representation according to rules. Sirsa maintained that the government had neither purchased the rice nor paid any money for it, and said there was no quota involved. He also accused AAP of deliberately creating disruptions to prevent discussions on financial assistance proposed for women in Delhi.

The dispute centres on AAP's allegations regarding the proposed distribution of subsidised rice. AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj has alleged that an Assam-based corporation sought subsidised rice for distribution among poor people in Delhi and submitted a representation to Sirsa. According to AAP, Sirsa forwarded the request to his department with instructions to consider it according to the rules. The party further alleged that officials subsequently approached the Food Corporation of India for about 31,000 metric tonnes of rice every week. AAP has claimed that the subsidised rice was instead proposed to be sold to a private company in Haryana at a higher price.

AAP has estimated that the alleged arrangement, if continued for three years, could have involved rice worth around Rs 22,000 crore. However, the Rs 22,000-crore figure is an allegation and calculation by AAP and has not been established as an official loss. Bharadwaj has demanded Sirsa's resignation, while AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha has also questioned the minister's role. Sirsa, meanwhile, has threatened legal action over the allegations and is expected to send legal notices to Bharadwaj and Jha. He had earlier given them 24 hours to withdraw their allegations and issue a public apology, failing which he said he would initiate defamation proceedings.

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