Delhi rice scam: AAP alleges Assam corporation diverted subsidised grain to Haryana

A fresh political controversy has erupted in Delhi after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that subsidised rice meant for the city’s poor was diverted through an Assam-based corporation and subsequently sold to a private company in Haryana.

Bharadwaj, Delhi AAP president and a former Delhi minister, alleged that the proposed arrangement involved the diversion and private sale of subsidised rice worth around Rs 22,000 crore over a three-year period. The figure, however, is an estimate based on projections cited by the AAP leader.

In a video posted on X, Bharadwaj alleged that the Delhi government had worked with a corporation in Assam to procure rice from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) at highly subsidised rates, ostensibly for distribution among migrant workers, homeless people and daily-wage labourers in Delhi.

According to Bharadwaj, the arrangement involved the procurement of around 31,000 metric tonnes of rice every week. He alleged that instead of reaching the intended beneficiaries, the rice was subsequently sold to a private company in Haryana at a significantly higher price.

Bharadwaj claimed that documents cited in the matter showed subsidised rice procured at around Rs 23 per kg being sold to a private company in Haryana at Rs 46 per kg.

He further alleged that commissions and brokerage linked to the arrangement could amount to around Rs 11,000 crore.

“The Delhi government, in collaboration with a corporation in Assam, made a complete plan to deprive the poorest of the poor in Delhi of rice rations,” Bharadwaj alleged, while demanding scrutiny of the transactions and the agencies involved.

The AAP leader also claimed that the alleged diversion involved large quantities of rice procured through the subsidised supply system and raised questions over the role of the Assam-based corporation and the private company in Haryana.

The allegations have triggered a fresh political confrontation in Delhi. The claims concern an alleged arrangement spanning procurement, transportation and resale of subsidised foodgrain, and the figures cited by Bharadwaj remain allegations that require verification by the relevant authorities.