The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi has been accused of wasting INR 63 crore on the Delhi Shopping Festival, which was scheduled to take place between January 28 and February 27. However, the event did not happen, prompting the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to accuse the AAP government of announcing events without any preparation and wasting public money on their publicity. Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana slammed the AAP government for cheating the people, especially the businessmen of Delhi. He demanded that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should apologize to the people of Delhi and return the money to the public fund.
Last year, Kejriwal had announced the festival six months in advance, saying that it would be on the lines of the Dubai Shopping Festival. The announcement was accompanied by full-page newspaper advertisements, which the BJP claims to have cost INR 63 crore. However, despite creating a buzz around the event, the AAP government failed to hold the shopping festival. The BJP accused Kejriwal of wasting public money on false promises and said that the government must be held accountable for its actions.