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AAP leader Sanjay Singh has alleged a ₹650 crore drug procurement scam in BJP-governed Delhi, demanding CM Rekha Gupta and the Health Minister resign and that the ED investigate. The move is a calculated political reversal — forcing the same central agency BJP used against AAP in the liquor scam to now act against its own government, or face charges of selective enforcement.
Here is a number worth remembering the next time someone tells you the Enforcement Directorate is an impartial institution: ₹650 crore. That is the sum AAP's Sanjay Singh says has been siphoned through drug procurement irregularities under the BJP government in Delhi — the same Delhi where, barely a year ago, it was AAP leaders being raided, arrested, and paraded before cameras on liquor policy charges. The shoes, it appears, are being fitted for the other foot. And AAP is holding the shoehorn.
According to Dainik Bhaskar, Sanjay Singh — the Rajya Sabha MP who was himself jailed for months in the excise policy case before being granted bail — held a press conference in which he alleged large-scale corruption in the procurement of medicines and medical supplies under the BJP-led Delhi government. He named CM Rekha Gupta directly. He named the Health Minister. And then, with the precision of a man who has spent two years studying exactly how the BJP's institutional pressure works, he demanded their resignations and called for the ED to investigate.
Let that land for a moment. The ED — the agency that arrested Arvind Kejriwal, that jailed Manish Sisodia for over 17 months without trial, that became the BJP's most effective electoral weapon against AAP in the 2025 Delhi elections — is now being publicly invited to raid the BJP's own house. It is not a demand. It is a dare.
The Anatomy of the Allegation
The specifics, as reported by Dainik Bhaskar, centre on procurement irregularities in Delhi's public health system — the purchasing of medicines at inflated rates, opaque tendering processes, and what Singh alleges is a ₹650 crore hole in the public exchequer since BJP took charge. Drug procurement in government hospitals is a notoriously murky space across Indian states — the margins between legitimate cost and inflated billing have funded political machines for decades. What makes this particular allegation sharp is not its novelty but its timing and its target.
Delhi's BJP government, led by CM Rekha Gupta, has been in office since the February 2025 assembly elections. The party swept to power largely on the back of two narratives: the liquor scam had destroyed AAP's credibility, and BJP would deliver clean governance. For AAP to allege a ₹650 crore scam within barely a year of BJP taking charge is to attack the founding promise of the government's mandate.
Political Pulse
The corridors of Lutyens' Delhi are buzzing with what veteran political watchers are calling AAP's most sophisticated counter-move since its post-election rout. The talk in opposition circles — and even among some discreetly candid BJP functionaries — is that Sanjay Singh has crafted what amounts to a perfect political mousetrap.
Consider the binary he has created. If the ED takes up the case and raids BJP leaders, the ruling party is humiliated by the very agency it used to decimate AAP. If the ED refuses to act — which is the far more likely scenario, given the agency's track record of selective prosecution — AAP gets to stand before every camera in the country and say: "See? The ED was never about justice. It was always about politics." Either outcome is a win for AAP's narrative. The whisper in political circles, according to those tracking AAP's strategy, is that Singh does not actually expect an ED raid. He expects the refusal. And that refusal is the real weapon.
This is the reverse-engineering of a playbook AAP knows intimately, having been on its receiving end. During the excise policy case, the ED's involvement — the pre-dawn raids, the dramatic arrests, the timed leaks — was as much a political instrument as a legal one. It did not matter, ultimately, that bail was granted and convictions remain pending; the perception of guilt was enough to swing an election. AAP is now attempting to create the same perception, but with a crucial twist: they are not asking a court to convict anyone. They are asking the public to notice who the ED chooses not to investigate.
India Herald's read of what is really driving this is not the ₹650 crore figure itself — drug procurement scams are endemic and proving them is a years-long battle. What matters is the political architecture around the allegation. Sanjay Singh, a man who spent months in Tihar Jail and emerged with a personal narrative of persecution, is arguably the most credible messenger AAP could deploy for this counter-attack. He is not alleging corruption from the comfort of a television studio. He is alleging it as someone who knows, viscerally, what it feels like when the state's investigative machinery is aimed at you. That personal credibility is the hidden force multiplier in this move.
The Bigger Game: 2029 Begins Now
What most commentators are missing — and what the political gossip in AAP circles is very much about — is the electoral timeline. Delhi's next assembly election is in 2030, but the general elections are in 2029. AAP, reduced to a rump in Delhi's assembly, needs to rebuild its national relevance if it hopes to matter in the INDIA alliance arithmetic or any opposition formation. The liquor scam narrative nearly killed the party. A drug scam counter-narrative — if sustained, if documented, if repeated at every press conference for the next three years — could be AAP's route back.
The strategy is not to win a court case. It is to create a parallel ledger in public memory: for every ED raid on an AAP leader, there will be an unanswered AAP allegation against a BJP leader. The question AAP wants permanently lodged in the voter's mind is not "who is corrupt?" — that is a question without heroes in Indian politics — but "who gets investigated and who does not?" That reframing, if it sticks, is devastating for BJP's clean-governance brand.
Watch for what happens next. If the ED stays silent — and early indications suggest it will — expect AAP to escalate with specific documents, RTI responses, and procurement data. The party's calculation, according to observers tracking its internal strategy sessions, is that every day the ED does not act on a ₹650 crore allegation against BJP while Manish Sisodia spent 17 months in jail without trial is a day the "double standards" argument writes itself.
CM Rekha Gupta and the BJP's Delhi unit had not issued a detailed response to the specific procurement allegations as of this report. The BJP has previously dismissed AAP's charges as diversionary tactics by a party facing its own legal battles.
There is an old line in Delhi's political bazaars: the best weapon is the one your enemy built and then left lying around. Sanjay Singh has picked up the ED playbook, dusted it off, and pointed it squarely at the people who wrote it. Whether the gun fires or jams, the sound it makes will echo all the way to 2029.
Allegations reported here are attributed to named sources and remain unproven unless a court has ruled; matters sub judice are reported without prejudgment.
Reported and written with AI assistance under India Herald's editorial standards; a human editor governs publication.
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Key Takeaways
- AAP's Sanjay Singh has alleged a ₹650 crore drug procurement scam under BJP-ruled Delhi and demanded CM Rekha Gupta's resignation and an ED investigation, according to Dainik Bhaskar.
- The move creates a political binary: if the ED investigates, BJP is embarrassed by its own agency; if it does not, AAP claims institutional bias — a win-win for AAP's narrative.
- Singh's personal credibility as a leader who was himself jailed in the excise policy case makes him a strategically potent messenger for this counter-attack.
- The real target is not a court conviction but the 2029 general election narrative — AAP is building a 'double standards' ledger designed to erode BJP's clean-governance brand over the next three years.
- BJP's Delhi unit had not issued a detailed rebuttal to the specific procurement allegations as of this report.
By the Numbers
- ₹650 crore — the alleged scale of the drug procurement scam cited by AAP's Sanjay Singh against the BJP-governed Delhi administration, according to Dainik Bhaskar.
- 17 months — the approximate duration former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia spent in jail without trial in the excise policy case, a figure AAP is now using as a benchmark to challenge ED's selective action.
The 5W+H: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
- Who: AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has levelled allegations against Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and the BJP-run Delhi government, according to Dainik Bhaskar.
- What: Singh has alleged a ₹650 crore scam in Delhi's drug procurement system and demanded the CM's and the Health Minister's resignations, along with an ED probe, as reported by Dainik Bhaskar.
- When: The allegations were made in June 2026, amid the first full year of BJP governance in Delhi following the February 2025 assembly elections.
- Where: New Delhi — targeting the Delhi state government's health infrastructure and drug procurement apparatus.
- Why: AAP claims public funds were siphoned through inflated drug procurement under BJP's watch, and frames the demand for an ED probe as a test of whether central agencies operate impartially or only target opposition parties, according to Dainik Bhaskar.
- How: Sanjay Singh held a press conference detailing the alleged scam, citing procurement irregularities, and publicly challenged the ED to investigate the BJP government the same way it investigated AAP leaders during the liquor policy case, as reported by Dainik Bhaskar.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the ₹650 crore drug scam AAP is alleging in Delhi?
According to Dainik Bhaskar, AAP leader Sanjay Singh has alleged large-scale corruption in the procurement of medicines and medical supplies under the BJP-led Delhi government, claiming irregularities totalling ₹650 crore since BJP took charge after the February 2025 assembly elections.
Why is AAP demanding an ED investigation instead of a CBI probe?
By specifically naming the ED — the agency that arrested multiple AAP leaders during the excise policy case — AAP is creating a political test: if the ED acts, BJP is embarrassed by its own enforcement arm; if it does not, AAP can claim the agency is politically selective and was never about justice.
Has the BJP responded to the drug scam allegations?
As of this report, CM Rekha Gupta and the BJP's Delhi unit had not issued a detailed response to the specific procurement allegations. BJP has previously dismissed AAP's charges as diversionary tactics.
How does this relate to the AAP liquor scam case?
The excise policy (liquor scam) case saw ED arrest AAP leaders including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, significantly damaging AAP before the 2025 Delhi elections. AAP is now attempting to reverse that dynamic by demanding the same agency investigate BJP, creating a narrative of institutional double standards.
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