Sood accuses AAP of misusing public funds for high-end phones

Education Minister Ashish Sood levelled serious allegations against senior leaders of the former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, accusing them of misusing public funds by purchasing high-end mobile phones that far exceeded their official entitlement limits.

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Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Sood revealed that as per government norms set in 2013, the Chief Minister is entitled to a mobile phone worth Rs 50,000 and other ministers to phones priced up to Rs 45,000. However, during their tenure, several AAP ministers allegedly purchased premium smartphones costing far more, and then pressured government departments to approve the payments — often after the purchases were already made.

Citing detailed records, Sood said former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal purchased four expensive smartphones between 2015 and 2022 using public money. These included an iPhone 6s Plus (Rs 81,000) in 2015, an iPhone 7 Plus (Rs 69,000) in 2017, an iPhone 12 Pro Max (Rs 1,39,900) during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and an iPhone 13 Pro Max (Rs 1,63,900) in 2022 — each far above the Rs 50,000 limit.

He said internal documents showed officials had flagged these purchases as exceeding the allowed limit, and that Kejriwal’s office had sought post-facto relaxations to justify the costs.

Sood also accused former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia of following a similar pattern. Sisodia reportedly bought a Samsung Galaxy S8 with accessories for Rs 59,899 in 2017, another phone for Rs 49,000 in 2018, and yet another device in 2019 costing Rs 1.12 lakh. In 2021, he purchased an iPhone 12 Pro Max for Rs 1.66 lakh, followed by an iPhone 13 Pro Max in 2022 for Rs 1.37 lakh.

“Every year they bought new phones. Even during the pandemic, when resources were stretched thin, they continued their spending spree,” Sood remarked.

Highlighting alleged manipulation of records, Sood said AAP leader and current minister Atishi, in 2023, purchased a phone worth Rs 1,27,999. To bypass scrutiny, she allegedly split the payment — billing Rs 45,000 in one instance and the remaining Rs 89,000 separately.

“It was a deliberate move to dodge the rulebook. Clever accounting, but a clear misuse of public money,” he said, calling it a “crafty tactic” to hide the actual cost from official records.

Another senior leader, Saurabh Bharadwaj, reportedly purchased an iPhone worth Rs 61,000 in 2023. However, only Rs 45,000 was cleared by the government. Sood claimed Bharadwaj likely assumed his entire bill would be paid — as had seemingly been done for more senior leaders — but it wasn’t.

“These ministers not only violated spending caps but also pressured government officials to grant retrospective approvals,” said Sood.

Taking aim at AAP’s broader narrative, Sood criticised the party’s repeated claims of simplicity and sacrifice. “They told the public they left high-paying jobs to live simply and serve. But their actions — buying phones worth Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 lakh every year — expose their hypocrisy,” he said.