New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday demanded Lt Governor VK Saxena recommend a CBI probe into the alleged "financial mismanagement" by the AAP government of the Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University.
The Aam Aadmi Party hit back saying the BJP was making up allegations to defame it after the exposure of its so-called liquor scam.
Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta in a letter to the Delhi LG demanded expressed concerns over the misuse of public funds, particularly in relation to the DSEU and "questionable expenditures" over consultancy services between 2020 and 2023, a statement from Gupta's office read.
The AAP in a statement dubbed Gupta's charges a "poor attempt" by him to defame the Arvind Kejriwal government's "globally recognised education model." "He is making concocted stories to please his political masters," the party alleged.
"Gupta's letter underscores a massive recruitment scam within DSEU, where political appointees have allegedly been placed in high-paying positions without following the established recruitment processes," it charged.
The current state of DSEU, as described by Gupta, is "dire" and the university is "critically understaffed" with only 85 non-teaching staff against a sanctioned strength of 1,700, and 500 teaching staff out of the required 1,600.
Infrastructure across skill university campuses is "severely lacking" with some missing even basic amenities such as water and electricity, Gupta claimed.
In his letter, Gupta also pointed to the World Class Skill Centre initiative, another flagship programme of the AAP government, alleging Rs 500 crore has been "wasted" on semi-permanent structures lacking essential facilities.
He said other universities like the Delhi Teachers' University and Delhi Sports University are facing similar challenges, with one operating from a school building and the other existing merely in name.
The Leader of Opposition has requested the Lieutenant Governor to treat the matter with the "utmost seriousness" to safeguard the future of Delhi's youth.
The AAP retorted the BJP leader should have checked the budget of the university, before he came up with the "random" figure.
The amount Gupta quoted is more than the entire budget of DSEU, the party said.
Stories of "neglect and failure" regarding schools have become the norm" in the BJP ruled states, it added.