AAP's 'Phulera Panchayat' jibe as Rekha Gupta's husband attends meeting, BJP says 'nothing wrong'

The Delhi CM's husband, Manish Gupta, who is a businessman and a trader based in Shalimar, was seen at the meeting, triggering an uproar.

With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) engaging in an intense war of words over the participation of Delhi CM Rekha Gupta's husband in an official meeting, AAP Delhi resident president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday was quick to term the participation as "completely unconstitutional".

Seeking to explain the reason behind her husband's participation and viewing it as an effort to play down the controversy, Gupta tweeted: "In the meeting, officials were directed to regularly assess the progress of ongoing works in the area and submit detailed status reports within the stipulated timeframe. Additionally, discussions were held on the progress of completed and pending projects, and guidelines were issued for resolving departmental issues related to land use."

Furthermore, in a post on X, Bharadwaj likened the situation to the popular web series Panchayat, where the woman sarpanch’s husband informally assumes the sarpanch’s role in the fictional village of Phulera.

“Delhi Government Becomes Phulera Panchayat. Just as in Phulera's panchayat, where the woman sarpanch's husband acted as the sarpanch, today in Delhi, the CM's husband is sitting in official meetings. We had previously mentioned that the CM's husband attends official meetings, conducts meetings with officials, and carries out inspections,” Bharadwaj wrote.

The Delhi CM's husband, Manish Gupta, who is a businessman and a trader based in Shalimar, was seen at the meeting, triggering an uproar. AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj questioned why Rekha Gupta allowed her husband to attend the meeting and compared it to the fictional village of ‘Phulera’, where the female pradhan’s husband wields influence.

The controversy erupted after AAP shared a purported photo from an official meeting where Manish Gupta was seen seated beside CM Rekha Gupta. The party claimed the image, posted on both the official Instagram handle of the Chief Minister’s Office and Rekha Gupta’s own account, was proof of “family rule” in Delhi’s administration.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh also echoed similar sentiments, saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appointed two Chief Ministers in Delhi. “Rekha Gupta is the Chief Minister, her husband is the Super Chief Minister. BJP has wrecked Delhi in 6 months," he said.

Meanwhile, the BJP responded to AAP’s allegations by saying that there was “nothing wrong" in Ms Gupta’s husband sitting in the government meeting. “First of all, Manish Gupta is not only the husband of Rekha Gupta, but he was also looking after the constituencies of Shalimar Bagh," BJP’s Harish Khurana told NDTV.