BJP-Congress Face-Off in Gujarat Assembly Over Delay in Bicycle Distribution for Girl Students

Gandhinagar, Feb 27: A fierce debate erupted in the Gujarat Assembly on Thursday as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress clashed over the state government’s failure to distribute nearly 1.45 lakh bicycles to girl students under the Saraswati Sadhana Yojana in the past two years.

While the government attributed the delay to excessive rainfall and rusting of bicycles, the Congress alleged corruption and mismanagement, claiming that thousands of girls were forced to walk to school due to the failure in timely distribution.

Government's Explanation​

Responding to questions in the House, State Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi stated that as of December 2024, around 1.45 lakh bicycles meant for distribution in 2023 and 2024 had not been handed over. He revealed that no bicycles were distributed between January 2023 and January 2024, and only 8,494 units were provided between January 2024 and January 2025.

Under the Saraswati Sadhana Yojana, bicycles are provided to girls from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) upon their admission into Class 9 in government secondary schools. Sanghavi assured that the government had distributed over 7.93 lakh bicycles over the past five years.

However, he admitted that many bicycles were left unused and rusted due to exposure to rain, leading to further delays as the government took time to refurbish them before distribution. “Due to excessive rains, the bicycles caught some rust. Instead of handing over rusted bicycles, we asked the vendor to restore them, which caused delays,” he explained.

Opposition's Allegations​

Congress MLA Imran Khedawala criticized the government, stating that the delay resulted from negligence and poor planning. Senior Congress leader Shailesh Parmar argued that the rusting of bicycles was evidence of the government’s failure to distribute them on time.

Congress Legislative Party leader Amit Chavda went a step further, alleging corruption in procurement and accusing the government of changing tender norms to favor specific companies. He claimed that officials at Gujarat Rural Industries Marketing Corporation (GRIMCO), responsible for procurement, had warned that vendors were charging ₹500 more per unit.

“Despite warnings, the government proceeded with procurement. Later, third-party inspections revealed that the bicycles were substandard, leading to the rejection of the delivery. As a result, they were left to rust in the open, delaying distribution,” Chavda alleged.

Government’s Defense and Future Assurance​

In response, Sanghavi defended the procurement process, stating that the additional cost was due to add-ons such as front baskets for school bags and ISI-marked reflectors for safety. He assured the Assembly that from this academic year onward, such delays would not recur.

Speaker Shankar Chaudhary also intervened, directing the government to ensure the timely distribution of bicycles to female students in the future.

The controversy has fueled political tensions, with the Congress using the issue to question the BJP government’s efficiency. At the same time, the ruling party maintains that necessary measures were being taken to resolve the problem.