A fresh controversy involving Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Chief Minister’s residence, popularly referred to as ‘Sheesh Mahal’ has rocked the state polity. Kejriwal is already embroiled in an alleged scam case over the irregularities in expenses incurred in the construction/reconstruction of Sheesh Mahal. Now, he is being accused of not handing over the house keys while publicly claiming that he has vacated the house. The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused him of playing ‘Nautanki’ over the issue of vacating Sheesh Mahal.
Notably, the recent controversy involving Kejriwal erupted after a PWD official wrote a letter to the Delhi CMO’s Special Secretary which is now doing rounds on social media.
This is shocking : As per reports Kejriwal didn’t vacate the CM house. He staged a photo op, handed over the keys to officials, and then took them back after the cameras and journalists left.
What a fraud. pic.twitter.com/EMpR4ffwHE
— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) October 7, 2024
In the letter, the PWD Assistant Engineer pointed out that Kejriwal claimed that he vacated the Sheesh Mahal on 4th October. However, the keys were later taken back and were not handed over to the civic body even when some officials visited ‘Sheesh Mahal’ for inspection on Sunday 6th October.
The letter stated, “It is brought to your attention that the keys of the house at 6, Flag Staff Road 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 civic body stressed that the keys were not even handed over to them when officials visited the residence on Sunday.
The PWD emphasised that the delay was not only hindering routine procedures but also affecting the allotment of the residence to the current Chief Minister, Atishi Marlena.
The letter added, “The prompt transfer of the property is required to ensure the new Chief Minister can move in without unnecessary delays.”
The civic body explained that some vigilance cases related to construction at the bungalow were underway. As a result, it was “necessary” for them to inspect the house and take a detailed stock of inventories before it was allotted to someone else.
The letter noted, “It is therefore requested to arrange to hand over the keys of the house to Shri Karam Singh Yadav, PWD without any further delay in order to complete the process of handing over of the house to PWD and enable the Department to undertake an inspection, detailed stock of inventories inside the house prior to making fresh allotment of the house.”
Launching a scathing attack on Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said, “The Sheesh Mahal, a symbol of Kejriwal’s corruption, has never been vacated. We all witnessed the drama when he left with his family, but according to government rules, Kejriwal’s residence has not been vacated to this day.”
It is pertinent to note that Arvind Kejriwal has been time and again harping controversy over Sheesh Mahal. Incidentally, during his days as protester/activist and initial days of politics, he accused other politicians of enjoying lavish lifestyles and residing in costly houses while maintaining that once he gets to the helm of affairs, he would not take VVIP and luxury facilities like car, big house among others. However, he is accused of building Sheesh Mahal with an estimated cost of over Rs 45 crores, in a hurried manner, when the capital was going through its worst health crises in the wake of the COVID pandemic.