'Fix schools, not home': Cong, CJP, AAP slam Centre over ministers' Bungalow Bill
The Congress, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday, August 24, slammed the Centre over a record Rs 92.35 crore spent on the upkeep of Union ministers' official residences in the last financial year, questioning the government's spending priorities amid concerns over inflation, unemployment and the state of government schools.
The AAP contrasted the expenditure with the BJP's sustained criticism of the erstwhile Arvind Kejriwal government's spending on the Delhi chief minister's residence, according to posts by party leaders.
"Stop fixing your lavish homes, and fix the schools!" the CJP said on X, reacting to a PTI report on the rising expenditure on colonial-era bungalows occupied by ministers. "Rs 92 crore = 10 new world-class government schools. The money is available, the intent to use it for government schools is missing," the CJP post read.
The CJP, founded by Abhijeet Dipke in May as a satirical response to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant's "cockroach" remark, has since grown into a broader youth movement centred on issues such as unemployment and examination irregularities, with its latest campaign focused on the state of government schools.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate criticised what she called the "exorbitant spending" on the renovation and furnishing of government bungalows for ministers. "Rs 92.35 crore was spent in 2025-26. Rs 27.47 crore was spent in 2014-15.
Meaning, the expenditure has now more than tripled. The public grapples with inflation and unemployment - but what do they care?" Shrinate, chairperson of the Congress' social media and digital platforms, wrote on X.
AAP leader and former Delhi minister Somnath Bharti drew a contrast with the controversy over the construction and renovation of the official residence occupied by Kejriwal as chief minister. "Why doesn't the Godi media debate this 92 crore splurge on repair of houses of ministers in Modi govt who left no stone unturned to criticise Kejriwal govt for constructing a CM house?" Bharti wrote on X.
The BJP had earlier made the expenditure on Kejriwal's former Civil Lines official residence a major political issue, repeatedly accusing the previous AAP government of extravagance and referring to the property as a "sheesh mahal."
According to information PTI obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) query, expenditure on renovation, furnishing and repair of the official residences of Union ministers in Delhi rose from Rs 27.47 crore in 2014-15 to a record Rs 92.35 crore in 2025-26.
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which maintains the residences, spent a cumulative Rs 547.68 crore on such works over the 12 years from 2014-15 to 2025-26, the RTI data showed.
The expenditure has risen sharply in recent years averaging Rs 26.78 crore annually between 2014-15 and 2018-19, nearly doubling to around Rs 50 crore between 2019-20 and 2023-24, and subsequently climbing to Rs 71.98 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 92.35 crore last year, according to the data.
Officials have attributed the rising bill to the cost of maintaining the ageing bungalows, many of which are 80 to 100 years old and suffer from problems such as seepage, termite infestation, and ageing electrical and plumbing systems.
(Inputs from PTI)
