Overview
- The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday accused the Delhi government of a 40% commission on free school textbooks and said supplied copies used thinner 60 GSM paper and smaller, greyer print than the tendered 80 GSM specification.
- Education Minister Ashish Sood responded the next day by handing journalists book samples, measuring rulers, tender documents and two August–September 2023 departmental letters and saying textbooks were procured at about Rs 28 per copy versus Rs 55 or more under the previous AAP dispensation.
- Sood asked reporters to measure sizes at his press briefing and highlighted price comparisons for several class categories to argue the current contracts cost less for comparable formats.
- Journalists and analysts say those public displays do not settle the core question of wrongdoing because a forensic review of tender specifications, matching titles and quantities, inspection reports, invoices and contract awards is needed.
- The BJP has signalled it will release further allegations about the AAP era, while parents and students remain affected by past delays and quality concerns and a formal audit or probe is likely to determine any official action.