The setting of the Delhi Assembly on Monday has been adjourned till 11 am on Tuesday amid protests by MLAs of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sought a majority test to prove that he has the support of all his party’s MLAs.

The discussion on a vote to prove the majority will be taken up tomorrow. Ahead of the vote, the chief minister hit out at the Centre blaming it for the inflation and alleged that the price of the daily-use items rose because the BJP government had waived off loans of its “billionaire friends”.

Kejriwal said that inflation would be put to an end if the loans waived off by the Centre are recovered.

“The Centre waived off the loans of their billionaire friends. The central government has stated in the Parliament that in the past five years, they have waived off loans worth Rs 10 lakh crore of the billionaires. They do not waive off the loans of students and farmers. If they recover the money that they have waived off from the billionaires, inflation will finish,” Kejriwal said in the Assembly.

The Delhi chief minister alleged that the money which the BJP-led Centre collects from taxes that it imposed on the eatables is being used in “Operation Lotus”.

“They are collecting taxes from you but not spending the amount on education, healthcare, electricity or roads, they are putting it in the pockets of their billionaire friends. The prices of petrol and diesel fall in the entire world, but it is increasing in India. This money is used in Operation Lotus,” he alleged adding that the BJP has “bought 277 MLAs so far from the other parties at an expense of Rs 6,300 crore”.

“They form governments by buying the MLAs. 12 of our MLAs have told us that they were offered Rs 20 crores to join the BJP. Their target was to break 40 MLAs but our MLAs are honest. Their Operation Lotus failed.

They succeeded in toppling the governments in various states. They will do the same in Jharkhand also in a few days. They have bought 277 MLAs so far from the other parties at an expense of Rs 6,300 crores,” Kejriwal further alleged.

He claimed that the petrol and diesel prices will surge if the Jharkhand government, which is reeling under a political crisis currently, falls.

“If the Jharkhand government falls, they will surely increase the prices of petrol and diesel. This is the most corrupt government since Independence. They claim that they are fighting against corruption, but buying MLAs openly,” he said.

Slamming the BJP over its protest against the rolled-back Excise Policy in the national capital, he said that nothing was found in the probe and therefore the BJP is targeting the government schools.

“They created a fuss about the Excise policy recently but did not find anything in the probe. Now they are saying that more number of toilets and schools were made. There is a need for this confidence motion because we have to show that every MLA of the AAP is honest. We will prove that not a single MLA was sold,” he said.

Earlier today, the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday hit out against a “major scam” by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party accusing it of not honouring its manifesto promise of building 500 new government schools.

The BJP alleged that the Delhi government had indulged in corruption in the construction of new classrooms by giving tenders to “selected contractors”.

Gaurav Bhatia of the BJP alleged Kejriwal did not take any note of the report submitted over two years ago by the Central Vigilance Commission, which highlighted irregularities in the construction of classrooms in government schools in Delhi.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Gaurav Bhatia said, “AAP’s manifesto promised 500 new schools in Delhi. The new schools didn’t come up but, in a pre-planned manner, they sought a report from the Public Welfare Department.

“Submitted at the behest of Arvind Kejriwal, the report stated that additional classrooms will be built and new schools won’t be built. Now it is said that extra rooms will be built in the schools, but new schools will not be opened. There was a requirement of 2,400 rooms in the schools, but this was increased to 7,180,” Bhatia said.

The BJP leader alleged that there was a hike of 50 to 90 per cent in the cost of construction of the classrooms.

“50-90 per cent hiked construction cost was shown, overlooking provisions of CPWD manual, for profit so that tender can be given to select contractors. Matter of concern as CVC inquiry report that a major scam took place, was sent to Delhi government Vigilance secretary 2.5 years back,” he alleged.