NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta took aim at former CM Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) while presenting her government’s Rs 1 lakh crore budget for 2025-26 on Tuesday, reviving the ‘Sheesh Mahal’ controversy from the assembly election campaign.
“There is a lot of difference between us, you made promises, we will fulfil them. You abused other states’ governments, we will work together. You made the ‘Sheesh Mahal’, we will build houses for the poor. You installed (gold) toilets worth lakhs, we will make toilets for the poor,” she added.
Gupta did not hold back, referring to her predecessor as “Delhi’s malik (owner)” and mocking his promise to turn the capital into “London,” instead leaving behind traffic snarls and unfinished projects.
As part of her government’s vision, Gupta announced plans to turn Delhi into a “tourism hub,” earmarking Rs 177 crore for the initiative. This includes promoting the Bharat Mandapam trade hall as a key attraction.
On education, she accused the previous AAP government of manipulating student performance statistics. “The AAP government has failed many students in 9th and 11th standard so that their 10th and 12th results appear better,” she alleged.
To revamp education, the government will introduce ‘CM SHRI Schools,’ modeled after ‘PM SHRI Schools’ and aligned with the New Education Policy 2020, with an initial allocation of Rs 100 crore. Additionally, Rs 750 crore has been set aside to provide free laptops to 1,200 students passing class 10th. A new education hub is also planned for Narela.
Infrastructure funding includes Rs 100 crore for shifting overhead electrical lines and high-tension wires. The environment and forest department will receive Rs 506 crore, while the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is set to get Rs 6,897 crore.
A new jail will be constructed on the outskirts of the city to relocate Tihar Jail. In a move for animal welfare, the government will establish modern cow shelters in Ghummanhera, allocating Rs 40 crore for the project.
