New Delhi: Days before the Rekha Gupta government completed its one year, a statement by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath went viral. Addressing a gathering in Gorakhpur on 14 February, Yogi compared the air quality in Delhi to a “gas chamber”.
The statement, sources in the BJP said, created significant “unease” within the government as it came days before Gupta was to address a press conference highlighting her government’s achievements in the one year since she became CM.
Moreover, the statement was picked up by the Opposition which pointed out how the BJP’s own leaders were questioning Rekha Gupta’s rule.
Gupta seems to have taken it in her stride, though. Addressing a press conference on her government’s one year anniversary Friday, she said, “Today’s report card reflects the facts of our one year of hard work and change. This government is not a government of promises, but of results.”
Brushing aside criticism, the chief minister said her government is not a government of announcements, but of action. “The government in Delhi today does not engage in poster politics, does not engage in tweet politics. We have transformed Delhi’s work culture. We offer solutions, unlike previous governments, who used to make noise… Today, as we complete one year, I can confidently say to the people of Delhi that we have worked across every sector to bring about positive change in Delhi,” she added.
During the press conference, the CM also showcased a video to highlight work done by her government, including steps taken in the health sector, Yamuna cleaning, education and overall transformation the national capital has professedly undergone in the past one year. Gupta said, 30,000 beneficiaries have benefited from the Ayushman scheme so far.
‘Missing Kejriwal’
Opposition parties are not convinced, though. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claims the people of Delhi are “missing Kejriwal”. In fact, on Thursday, AAP said posters and hoardings carrying the slogan “Ek saal, Dilli behaal, yaad aa rahe Kejriwal (Delhi hopeless after one year, people remembering Kejriwal)” had appeared in parts of Delhi.
“Everyone is missing Arvind Kejriwal. He is the first chief minister in the country who did not allow private schools to charge excess fees from parents and, in fact, got it refunded. People are missing uninterrupted power and water supply which our government prioritised. Delhi is now stuck with a government and a CM which cannot comprehend AQI and AIQ. As far as the CM is concerned, the less said the better. She’s busy reading from pre-scripted drafts and has constantly failed to deliver on promises made,” said Priyanka Kakkar, spokesperson of AAP.
Speaking to ThePrint, senior Congress leader Alka Lamba said despite having a “four engine” government in Delhi, the BJP was busy indulging in “bayanbaazi (making claims)” and “hawaabaazi (making empty promises)”.
“She is a woman CM but I would not like to view her performance from the prism of gender. As a first-time MLA, she lacks administrative experience and it is quite visible in the condition of Delhi. Rather than spend time on understanding and learning, she was busy with publicity. In the last one year, Delhi has gone through hell, potholes and craters have resulted in deaths, pollution is affecting our life span and this government with its four engines is not able to do anything,” said Lamba.
In her budget speech last year, Yamuna was mentioned at least 17 times. The government allocated Rs 500 crore for constructing 40 treatment plants to process sewage and prevent the contamination of river water.
It’s a work in progress but the government’s “overzealousness to show immediate results often tends to backfire’, say Congress leaders.
AAP had alleged that the “artificial pond” created by the Delhi government at Vasudev Ghat specifically for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’ visit during Chhath celebrations in 2025 was filled with filtered water. Though in the end the PM did not visit, the pond still became a major controversy.
The opposition AAP and Congress have been critical of the steps taken by the BJP government, alleging that rather than working on the ground, the Rekha Gupta government was busy “manipulating data”, especially on pollution.
The Delhi government has also been under fire for poor maintenance of infrastructure, highlighted by the opposition when a 25-year-old man died in west Delhi’s Janakpuri after falling into a pit dug and left uncovered by the Delhi Jal Board.
CM Rekha Gupta’s public gaffes have not helped matters either. From referring to AQI as AIQ or calling it a “temperature” measurable by any device, to referring to freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose as “Netaji Subhash Palace” her slips of tongue were seized upon by the Opposition, with AAP targeting her through social media memes.
“Her one year tenure can be best summed up as a big failure. People were expecting a lot of changes but rather than implementing their poll promises, they started indulging in PR and publicity. Rather than taking steps to combat pollution, they started indulging in data manipulation,” said Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav.
“We have a BJP CM (Adityanath) openly saying that the national capital is a gas chamber so what else needs to be said? The chief minister’s tongue has been slipping continuously and apart from making announcements, the government has not done anything,” added Yadav.
The BJP government which returned to power in the national capital after a gap of 27 years, had made several promises in its election manifesto, including cleaning the Yamuna and providing Rs 2,500 a month to women.
Even though the Delhi government has taken steps to implement some of its election promises. many, like the flagship scheme of financial help to women, remain unfulfilled. Under the Mahila Samridhi Yojana, while the government has made an allocation of Rs 5,100 crore for Rs 2,500 monthly payments to poor women, disbursements haven’t started yet as the eligibility is still to be worked out, even though a committee of three ministers has been formed to determine criteria.
Ayushman Bharat & Atal Canteens
However, the government did approve the implementation of the central government’s Ayushman Bharat scheme in its very first cabinet meeting in Delhi. Under this scheme, it has provided an additional Rs 5 lakh, on top of the Rs 10 lakh that the Ayushman Bharat card provides.
Similarly, the government had launched Atal Canteens to provide nutritious food to the poor in Delhi. Last year, on the 101st birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the government launched this scheme to provide nutritious food for Rs 5 to urban poor, labourers, and other underprivileged residents. On Thursday, CM Gupta and Lieutenant-Governor V. K. Saxena inaugurated 25 new Atal Canteens taking the total number of canteens in the city to 71.
In addition to this, the government also launched the Chief Minister’s Maternity Protection Scheme, another key election promise. Under this, the party had promised to provide pregnant women with Rs 21,000 and six nutrition kits. The scheme has been rolled out with beneficiaries registering under the scheme and the government starting the disbursement of funds too.
“Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and her entire team have put their dedicated efforts in steering the Capital towards progress and good governance. The government has taken significant steps toward strengthening infrastructure, improving civic amenities, enhancing transparency in administration, expanding digital governance, and accelerating development initiatives,” said BJP MP from Delhi Praveen Khandelwal.
The government after coming to power had also approved a scheme to provide two free LPG cylinders annually to poor women. In addition to this, the BJP during the elections had also promised to provide one free cylinder to poor women on Holi and Diwali each. Additionally, women were promised gas cylinders for Rs 500.
While the scheme has been approved, its implementation is awaited. The chief minister earlier this month said that the government will transfer Rs 853 (the current cost of an LPG cylinder in Delhi) to each ration card-holding family before Holi. A similar transfer, she said, will also be made before Diwali.
The BJP had picked Gupta, a first-time MLA and three-term former councillor, as the CM from among a list of contenders such as Parvesh Verma and Ashish Sood. Gupta was first elected as a councillor from Pitampura North in 2007 and was elected to the municipal council from Pitampura North ward thrice.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)