Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta delivered a sharp retort to online critics who targeted her for a recent verbal slip concerning the Air Quality Index (AQI). Speaking in the Delhi Assembly on Friday, she framed the trolling as a reaction against her relentless work ethic and gender, while also launching a broadside against the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
Addressing the "Cheap Comments" and Verbal Slip
Rekha Gupta directly confronted the social media trolls who amplified her mistake of referring to AQI as "AIQ." She stated that such "cheap comments" and attempts to hurt her dignity were motivated by a dislike for a woman chief minister working around the clock. Gupta emphasised that misspeaking or mispronouncing words is a common human error, and her gaffe was unintentional.
"They don't like the fact that a woman Chief Minister is working 24/7. They make fun of the words I accidentally utter. Anyone can make mistakes while speaking," ANI quoted her as saying. She contrasted her accidental error with what she called deliberate misinformation by political opponents.
She also mentioned another instance where she mistakenly said "Congress" instead of "the British" in a speech, alleging that remark was taken out of context and turned into viral social media reels.
Scathing Critique of the Previous AAP Government
Shifting focus to governance, Chief Minister Gupta launched a fierce critique of the earlier AAP administration. She highlighted financial and planning failures in hospital projects. She revealed that due to lack of proper planning and approved layouts, project costs had skyrocketed from an initial ₹200 crore to a staggering ₹1,600 crore. Resolving these stalled works, she said, is now a major challenge requiring fresh tenders.
Furthermore, Gupta pointed to massive corruption in the power sector under the previous regime. She stated that nearly 150,000 properties in Delhi were operating without electricity meters despite consuming power, leading to widespread theft. Her government, she claimed, took decisive action by ensuring legal connections and installing meters for all such properties.
Claiming a New Direction for Delhi
Striking a positive note on current affairs, Rekha Gupta asserted that various governing bodies in Delhi are now united. She said the Central government, Lieutenant Governor, Municipal Corporation, and other agencies were no longer working at cross purposes but were aligned in advancing the city's development.
She outlined that her administration has set clear priorities and is working with short-, medium-, and long-term objectives. According to an official release, she claimed that within just 11 months, her government had managed to change the direction of Delhi.
Concluding her address, the Chief Minister stressed her commitment to public service, stating that she, along with her ministers and BJP MLAs, was working tirelessly on the ground and that her government remains accountable to the people of Delhi.
