The Chief Minister’s official bungalow, rather the lack of one at the moment, has sparked yet another verbal clash between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Delhi Chief Minister’s official residence at 6 Flag Staff Road, Civil Lines is now an issue over which both parties are launching allegations and documents to support their case.
In yet another round of Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vs CM, the Chief Minister’s Office on Wednesday alleged that “Delhi Chief Minister’s residence was forcibly vacated at the behest of the BJP as Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, who wants to allot to BJP leader. The bungalow was sealed by the Public Works Department on Wednesday,” the CMO stated.
The Public Works Department (PWD) said that after Arvind Kejriwal vacated the residence, the keys were supposed to be given to it, instead they were directly given to Atishi.
Earlier, the CMO alleged that Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena got all the belongings of CM Atishi removed from the official residence at Flag Staff Road bungalow at the behest of the BJP as he wants to allot it to a saffron party leader.
Reacting to the CMO’s allegations, sources at Raj Niwas said that the bungalow was never earmarked for the official residence of the Chief Minister of Delhi. “The ‘owner’ of this house is the PWD. The PWD only takes possession of the house when it becomes vacant, makes its inventory and then duly allocates it” sources said.
“Former CM Arvind Kejriwal pretended to vacate the house but did not give possession of the house to the PWD. What were you hiding? This house has not been allotted to CM Atishi yet and her allotted residence is still 17 AB Mathura Road. How did the two houses get allotted? CM Atishi herself kept her belongings in that house without allotment and then removed it herself. This bungalow will be allotted to the CM immediately after duly preparing the inventory,” the sources added.
In a statement, the CMO said that for the first time in the history of the country, the Chief Minister’s residence was vacated. Several cartons and luggage were seen being taken out of the official residence. A double lock has been put on the residence, sources said, adding proper paperwork was not submitted to the PWD regarding the handover of the keys.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendraa Sachdeva said “Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘Sheesh Mahal’ was sealed” and claimed that “a lot of secrets were hidden in the bungalow”.
Earlier in the day, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said that in “defiance” of protocol, officers are “not allotting the bungalow to Delhi Chief Minister Atishi due to BJP’s pressure, even as it was vacated by her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal”.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta accused the CM of “illegally” occupying the bungalow and demanded it be sealed.
However, the Department of Vigilance, which reports to the Lt Governor, claimed that the bungalow has not been handed over to the Public Works Department (PWD) and issued show cause notices to three officials for failing to take appropriate action for the vacation of Chief Minister’s bungalow and handed over the possession to PWD.
In Delhi, there is no dedicated house earmarked as the official residence of the Chief Minister. Kejriwal has been living in the house since 2015 and renovated the bungalow in 2020-21, inviting controversy over the related cost.
The Vigilance Department has issued notices to Pravesh Ranjan Jha, Special Secretary to the then CM, Vijay Kumar, Section Officer and Mukesh Kumar, Section Officer. The department has said that the keys of the house handed over to PWD were taken back after some time are yet to be handed over to PWD to complete the process of handing over.
The Vigilance Department has asked for a response within seven days in this regard. In the notices, the said the said the bungalow was never earmarked as an official bungalow/residence of Chief Minister of Delhi.
“The building at ‘6 Flag Staff Road was constructed without any sanction plan of PWD or any other authority. Further, no completion certificate has been issued in r/ o the said structure constructed at ‘6 Flag Staff Road’, Civil Lines. The said structure/building has never been earmarked as official residence for Chief Minister of Delhi,” it said.
According to Raj Niwas sources, “Former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal never handed over the property to the PWD after vacating it, raising questions about potential hidden motives. While CM Atishi’s official residence is currently at 17 AB Mathura Road, she briefly moved her belongings into the 6 Flag Staff Road property without formal allotment. The bungalow will be allotted once the PWD completes its process,” the sources added.
